Jurisdictions Race to Implement Regulation Regimes for Virtual Asset Service Providers while Industry Develops Travel Rule Solutions On June 24, 2020, the Financial Action Task Force met, albeit virtually, for the third and final Plenary meeting under President Xiangmin Liu, of the People’s Republic of China, to review progress towards implementing new anti-money laundering guidance…
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Over the past year, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) have been scrambling to prepare for compliance with significant regulatory changes called for by the international financial crimes watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In June of 2019, the FATF updated their Recommendations that require VASPs to share specific sender and receiver information for cryptocurrency…
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Two key regulatory bodies recently rocked the foundation of the crypto economy with new guidance that will have major impacts on exchanges and other virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The global anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), recently updated guidance that includes a “Funds Travel Rule.” In short, the new rule…
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Since its inception in 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) BitLicense has been a source of controversy and debate. Most regulators regard the BitLicense controls as reasonable measures to reduce the inherent risks in transmitting and holding custody of cryptocurrency. However, opponents of the BitLicense see it as expensive, intrusive, and unjustly targeting…
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In October 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) amended its Recommendation to clarify how the FATF standards apply to activities or operations involving virtual assets. Recently, FATF asked for consultation comments with regards to a draft “Interpretive Note to Recommendation 15.” Explaining the need for revision, the FATF said: “Recognising the need to adequately…
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This analysis by CipherTrace looks at Iran’s proposed Crypto-Rial sovereign virtual currency. We conclude that such a currency and the regulations that Iran is proposing, will in fact, result in a flourishing cryptocurrency — i.e., one that benefits the regime through increased surveillance, taxation, access to global financial markets, and evasion of sanctions. The reasoning…
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Bitcoin and blockchain technologies are sparking innovation in financial technology (FinTech), but they do have a dark side. Criminals can use bitcoin for illegal activities and attempt to hide their ill-gotten gains, hoping law enforcement will not track the funds through the bitcoin transaction chain. They also steal huge quantities of cryptocurrency—nearly US$1 billion, according…
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Treasury working closely with the IRS for examination Some surprising facts regarding the state of the cryptocurrency environment recently came from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Speaking in August 2018 at the Chicago-Kent Block (Legal) Tech Conference, FinCEN’s Director, Kenneth Blanco, shed light on the agency’s approach to virtual currency and…
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CipherTrace CEO Leads SINET Panel that Includes New SEC ‘Crypto Czar’ On June 7, 2018, at the SINET Innovation Summit in New York, CipherTrace CEO Dave Jevans sat down with crypto asset experts and thought leaders for a discussion of the current and future state of cryptocurrencies. Topics ranged from fostering virtual currencies as mainstream…
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CipherTrace Cryptocurrency Threat Bulletin The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) https://www.eugdpr.org), which takes effect on May 25, 2018, will negatively impact the overall security of the Internet and will also inadvertently aid cybercriminals. By restricting access to critical ICANN WHOIS information, the new law will significantly hinder investigations into cybercrime, cryptocurrency theft,…
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