The Financial Supervisory Authority in Qatar has banned all cryptocurrency services.

The Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority said in a statement issued on Thursday that:

Virtual asset services may not be conducted in the QFC from or towards it at this time.

The authority specified the ban to include:

Anything of value that acts as a substitute for currency, can be traded or converted digitally and can be used for payment or investment purposes.

Cryptocurrency exchange services and platforms that provide the exchange between one or more forms of virtual assets, transfer of digital currencies, custody and/or management of virtual assets or tools that allow control of virtual assets, participation in and provision of financial services related to the issuer offer and/or sale virtual assets.

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Digital forms of securities or other financial instruments regulated by the Financial Markets Regulatory Authority are still permitted.

Cryptocurrency companies are shutting down everywhere due to strict anti-money laundering regulations.

In the same context, the Netherlands-based “Simplecoin”, a cryptocurrency mining company, and the “Chopcoin” Bitcoin gaming platform announced that they will stop their activities before the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive “5AMLD” which will enter into force in All EU member states on January 10, 2020.

The 5AMLD Act requires cryptocurrency exchange and wallet operators to identify their customers for anti-money laundering purposes.

Simplecoin management stated the following:

Simplecoin will be subject to a wide range of AML/KYC requirements.

Because under the new directive, we will be considered providers of a crypto wallet, a broad definition that applies to many cryptocurrency operations.

In fact, when the laws come into effect, we will have to require users to identify themselves for anti-money laundering purposes. We have been looking for solutions for a while, but it has become clear that there is no way around them.

We believe in the power and potential of cryptocurrency.

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Mining should be accessible to anyone and we refuse to jeopardize the privacy of our users, it remains to be seen the impact on mining pools and the cryptocurrency space as a whole.

Both companies informed users that they have two weeks to withdraw their balances.

Although some EU member states including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are expected to turn the 5 AMLD into law by the next January 10 deadline.

However, other countries are resisting the new directive.

The UK has pledged to implement 5AMLD despite its exit from the European Union.

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