As the launch date for General Data Protection Regulation in Europe approaches, many organizations have been shifting their activities to ensure that they’re in compliance. Unfortunately, some have had to eliminate parts of their operations to do this.
One good example of this in the cryptocurrency world is Parity, which had to eliminate its Parity ICO Passport Service (PICOPS) in the wake of GDPR despite the fact that this very feature helped simplify AML/CTF/KYC compliance.
“Many ICOs used PICOPS in order to comply with their jurisdiction’s Know-Your-Customer/Anti-Money-Laundering (KYC/AML) regulations. However, due to its interpretation of personal data and the rules on how to handle the latter, the EU’s General Data Protection Framework creates new and untested challenges when storing personal information on the blockchain,” the wallet developer wrote.
According to Parity, they did their best to make PICOPS work under GDPR. But as they tested ways to comply, they found that they would have to restrict the features offered by the service, rendering it nearly useless.
It was a choice between offering PICOPS as a mere husk of its former self or pour resources into attempting to make everything GDPR-compliant on a case-by-case basis. Both of these options were unrealistic.
“In our hope to find a solution in the interest of our users and to ensure future regulation will enable useful innovation, we will continue to work with regulators to ensure they are aware of the effects this framework may have on technologies that will improve the rights individuals have over their data,” Parity concluded.
This was not the only time a cryptocurrency platform has had to revise its operations in the wake of GDPR. LocalBitcoins, a service that allows individuals to trade Bitcoin with one another, had to actually de-anonymize part of its platform due to the privacy regulation.
Merchants and some buyers will now have to pass ID verification checks. Also, only one account would be allowed per person on the site.
While the EU publicly supports its fintech sector with agendas and policies, juggling the priorities of the different actors in the market is proving difficult.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest