What rules and restrictions govern the exchange of fiat currency and cryptoassets?
The Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive was recently transposed into Austrian law. The directive newly extends anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) diligence requirements to:
providers engaged in exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies (ie, cryptocurrency exchanges); and
electronic wallet providers (ie, entities providing services to safeguard private cryptographic keys to hold, store and transfer virtual currencies on behalf of their customers).
Also, since January 2020, certain providers of services concerning cryptocurrencies are subject to the AML and KYC and customer due diligence requirements, reporting obligations and registration requirements with the Financial Market Authority (FMA). This affects providers offering one or more of the following services: