Frankfurt chosen as headquarters for new EU anti-money laundering authority overseeing crypto sector

Representatives from the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a consensus on the location for the headquarters of the new European authority for anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing on Thursday, determining that AMLA, the organization, will be based in Frankfurt, Germany.

AMLA — which will oversee the crypto sector — is slated to have more than 400 staff members and begin operations in the middle of next year, according to a press release published yesterday that labels the organization "the centerpiece of the reform of the EU's anti-money laundering framework."

However, Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union said in a press conference that the authority is "ready to go" with its work as early as Friday morning.

"We're mitigating risks linked to large sums of money with an EU-wide limit of 10,000 euros for cash payments," McGuinness explained, adding: "At the same time, we're addressing risks posed by crypto and the anonymity it enables."

The selection of AMLA’s base location follows last year’s revision of the EU’s “transfer of funds rules” to allow for crypto-transaction tracing. The bloc also recently passed its high-profile Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.