Bitcoin falls after EU bans anonymous transactions; cryptoindustry rages on

The cryptocurrency market has been hit by the blow dealt by the European Union (EU), which banned anonymous transfers with digital assets, with no minimum amount, and leaves falls for Bitcoin and altcoins on Friday. The retreat of the most traded digital currency puts an end to the hopes of stretching the rally of recent days and overcoming the resistance of $50,000, at least for the time being.

Bitcoin actually gives ground below the previous resistance at $45,500 - $46,000, now support, and loses 5% in the last 24 hours. The weekly balance remains positive for the queen of the 'cryptos', that reached yearly highs above $48,000 on March 28th, after a multi-session upward momentum. Since then, the digital currency entered a consolidation move and news of tightening trading rules on token trading platforms have given investors the excuse to embark on a profit-taking move.

This behavior is similar for the 'altcoins', because when Bitcoin coughs the whole market catches a cold, with falls for Ethereum, which nevertheless holds above $3,200, and a correction of around 5% for other assets. LUNA (Terra) is particularly noteworth, as it drops to the $100 range after leaving all-time highs this week at $105. The total capitalization holds, for now, at $2 trillion, according to data from 'CoinMarketCap'.

In addition to an outflow of investors, the reaction of the industry has not taken long to come. Brian Amstrong, CEO of Coinbase, for example, has gone off the deep end in a series of tweets comparing the restrictive measures to traditional transfers. "Imagine if the EU required your bank to report you to the authorities every time you paid rent just because the transaction was over €1,000. Or if you sent money to your cousin to help him with the purchase, the EU would require your bank to collect and verify private information about your cousin before allowing you to send the funds," he expressed. "How could the bank comply? The banks would object. That's what we're doing now," he added.

According to Armstrong, the measure "guts all the work of the EU to be a world leader in privacy laws and policies. It also disproportionately punishes cryptocurrency holders and erodes their individual rights in a deeply worrying way. It is bad policy."

Amstrong previously pointed out that the measure stifled innovation in the cryptocurrency industry in Europe and put the EU in a worse position than other jurisdictions to encourage cryptocurrency activity.

Pascal Gauthier, president and CEO of the Ledger platform, also made his rejection clear on Twitter. "Today, the EU Parliament has opted for fear instead of freedom. It has just voted on a new regulation that paves the way for a regime of mass surveillance over the European financial landscape," he stated. "A new regulation has just been voted that paves the way for a regime of mass surveillance over the European financial landscape."

"These decisions will determine Europe's sovereignty and competitiveness in the digital future. Policymakers must take a constructive approach that does not stifle innovation, but allows Europe to create the tech giants of tomorrow and harness the full potential of Web3," Gauthier added in a series of tweets.