The Lithuanian government has approved amendments to the legislation on the regulation of the cryptocurrency market on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. This was announced by the country’s Ministry of Finance.

The bill imposes clearer requirements for user identity and a ban on creating anonymous accounts.

In addition, it is planned to increase the authorized capital of service providers to 125,000 euros, and to outline the requirements for managers in such companies – for example, they must be resident in Lithuania.

The document stipulates that from February 1, 2023, operators of cryptocurrency exchanges will be publicly represented in the register of legal entities.

The changes are expected to increase the transparency of the industry and reduce money laundering risks. Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste also noted that authorities should curb any attempts by Russia to circumvent sanctions with the help of crypto assets.

The ministry pointed out that many companies have moved to Lithuania after tightening regulation of the crypto industry in Estonia. If in 2020 eight service providers related to digital currencies start working in the country, in 2021 – 188.

Representatives of the Ministry of Finance said that they support regulation of the crypto market under development in the EU, but that Lithuania does not want to wait a few more years for its final enactment.

“We have decided to take practical steps to do “all our homework” to strengthen our regulatory framework,” Deputy Minister Mindaugas Liutvinskas said.

The draft is scheduled to be submitted to the spring session of the Lithuanian Seimas.

Recall that the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament passed a bill on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in March. Micaand later the EU supported the collection of data on non-custodial crypto wallet users.

Representatives of the Bitcoin industry urged European legislators to rethink anti-money laundering rules, refusing to tighten regulations.