Crypto lobbyists have apologised to members of the European parliament who were targets of “unacceptable” trolling online.
Last week, EU lawmakers approved tough new amendments to Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) to prevent crypto anonymous transactions despite pushback from industry.
A European industry body has spoken out in condemnation of the treatment of MEPs responsible for passing the legislation, Politico first reported.
“We are writing to express our unequivocal condemnation of the unacceptable behaviour of which you and some other Members of the European Parliament have been victim from members of the crypto community in the context of the TFR vote last week,” wrote the co-founders of the European Crypto Initiative in a letter to MEPs.
“Their actions should not be considered as representative of the crypto sector as a whole,” the letter continued.
Belgium’s Assita Kanko of the European Conservatives and Reformists was among those targeted by the crypto community online.
“I was appalled by the insults, the aggressiveness and the spamming because I am a person,” Kanko wrote in an email to Politico.
Kanko, 41, who co-led Parliament negotiations, added that she believed that the attacks came from a vocal minority within the crypto community. She added that she is looking forward to developing legislation which “protects society and creates more room for innovation and trust.”
In comments to Politico, Dutch S&D member Paul Tang, who was accused of being a Nazi by online abusers, said the behaviour of trolls “damages the reputation of the crypto industry, which isn’t in good shape already.”
Read more: ‘Let people invest’: Matt Hancock makes case for liberal crypto rules
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