Bitstamp imposes KYC for Dutch merchants withdrawing to exterior wallets

Digital asset trade Bitstamp has reportedly banned Netherlands-based customers from withdrawing crypto to exterior wallets with out first verifying they personal the receiving deal with.

In response to a letter authored by Bitstamp that was shared on Twitter by person “Bitcoin Marcus,” Bitstamp’s customers in Holland should now submit third-party addresses alongside photographic proof they personal the pockets for whitelisting earlier than withdrawals might be processed.

“Whitelisting is a safety function which was already accessible at Bitstamp, however now it has turn into compulsory for all clients affected by the brand new regulation within the Netherlands,” the letter acknowledged.

Sure, that is actual. Individuals within the Netherlands now should KYC their withdraw addresses. pic.twitter.com/S2H5Gszh9X

— Bitcoin Marcus ☣️⚡️ (@plan_marcus) January 17, 2021

Bitstamp’s new withdrawal guidelines are in response to anti-money laundering laws that had been drafted by Dutch regulators in November 2019 and handed into regulation 12 months later.

These guidelines stipulate that “crypto service suppliers should examine whether or not their purchasers and any final beneficiary homeowners are on a Dutch or European sanctions checklist” earlier than offering companies, and monitor all “incoming and outgoing cost transfers.”

In November, Netherlands-based Bitcoin trade Bitconic knowledgeable its customers they wanted to adjust to the brand new verification measures for withdrawals. On the time, the trade referred to as the enforcement of the central financial institution’s coverage “a nuisance.”

Bitstamp customers went additional of their criticism of the laws, with Twitter person “xcsler” mocking the trade’s efforts to adjust to Dutch regulation:

“Clearly, the subsequent step might be to make folks accountable for all subsequent transactions from that whitelisted deal with.”

In November, quantitative analyst PlanB likened the Dutch laws to insurance policies not too long ago advisable by U.S. Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong made waves on-line on the time, expressing main issues over Mnuchin’s proposed regulation on self-hosted crypto wallets. 

The Netherlands carried out these legal guidelines 2 weeks in the past. You now should screenshot your pockets when withdrawing bitcoin from Dutch exchanges, simple however annoying. Ensure you vote folks in energy that shield property rights and bitcoin, and take away individuals who do not shield freedom. https://t.co/BCcogxS8IE

— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) November 26, 2020

It’s not but clear how incoming U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will deal with KYC/AML enforcement within the crypto area. Lawyer Jake Chervinsky has argued that Mnuchin’s coverage has “precisely zero probability” of turning into an enforceable regulation underneath Biden’s decide for Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen.

Cointelegraph reached out to Bitstamp for remark, however didn’t obtain a reply on the time of publication.