Following the United States’ initiatives to embrace cryptocurrencies, significant pressure has lifted from the sector. However, as a consequence of regulatory efforts, certain standards are now becoming mandatory. The establishment of licensing frameworks prevents crypto companies from easily initiating operations without legal responsibilities as before. MiCA has clearly demonstrated this for the EU region. Responding to these developments, Google has implemented necessary changes.
Google’s Cryptocurrency Move
A few minutes ago, Google Play Store issued an important announcement. In the developer-related announcements section, it was stated that crypto wallets without a FinCEN registration, a state banking license, or a MiCA license will no longer be listed on the platform.
This new initiative means non-custodial wallets on the Play Store in the U.S. must use AML/KYC, resulting in approximately a $70 drop in ETH price. The situation is even more challenging for the EU.
“The developer must be registered as a Money Services Business with FinCEN and as a money transmitter in a state or be a federally or state-authorized banking institution.” – United States
“The developer must be authorized by the competent national authority under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation as a crypto asset service provider (CASP). Besides MiCA, all other local legal requirements, including national restrictions or requirements, must also be complied with.” – European Union
Impact on Non-Custodial Wallets
MiCA licenses are not issued to simple services like non-custodial wallets, meaning developers of such wallets are definitively banned from the Play Store in the EU. Given that FATF mandates these AML rules, even non-custodial/decentralized crypto applications will be affected by the new regulations.
We will see which applications are restricted in the coming days.
