The European Commission's war on Bitcoin continues, as EU authorities announced on Friday that they plan to create a team at Europol to deal with money laundering activities involving the digital currency.
Three different organizations will be responsible for the day-to-day work of the group: Europol, Interpol, and the Basel Institute on Governance.
The working group is reportedly entering the final phase of a program that began last fall, following the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015.
Since then, European authorities have reportedly begun the process of regulating Bitcoin across Europe. Initial plans were proposed in February 2016 and approved in July 2016.
Also, towards the end of July, the European Commission proposed the creation of a database that would store the data of the user's real identity and the address used for bitcoin payments (wallet address).
This new working group is an addition to the EU's growing presence in the cryptocurrency market, which EU regulators want to keep under control.
They argue, of course, that this is necessary to eliminate money laundering activities that help finance terrorism. To date, there has been no report that clearly shows that Daesh (ISIS) or other terrorist groups use Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Interpol's participation ensures that even non-EU states will be able to utilize the database when needed.
