Travel rule for cryptocurrency operators comes into effect

The text of the regulation on information accompanying the transfer of cryptocurrency funds: the travel rule, has just been approved by the European Parliament.
It will include crypto-assets (the Transfer of Funds Regulation).
The measure is part of the EU anti-money laundering package and is intended to complement the regulatory framework applicable to cryptocurrency services, together with the Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA).
The regulation aims to ensure that crypto-asset transfers can be traced and thus be blocked by operators from suspicious transactions, thus reducing the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.
To achieve this goal, the agreement provides for extending the so-called travel rule to crypto-asset transactions as well.

What is the so-called travel rule and what does it have to do with cryptocurrencies?

The travel rule is a measure applied in the banking and financial sector, according to which information about the sender and the recipient must be included in the data accompanying the (monetary) transfer and must be retained by both parties to the transaction.
Consequently, crypto-asset service providers (so-called crypto-asset service providers or CASPs) will be subject to an obligation to provide competent authorities with such originator and beneficiary information.