As the world’s supervisory agencies start to heed the crypto guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force, a new regulatory landscape is taking shape within the crypto industry. The latest country to annex the FATF directives is Canada, but how will the new rules impact crypto business in the country? In a report released March 10, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, or FINTRAC, unveiled plans for an “enhanced AML regime.” Come June 1, 2020, FINTRAC will treat all crypto firms as money service business, or MSB. This will place added scrutiny on cryptocurrency transfers, customer identification …

On March 10, major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced it has partnered with crypto forensics firm Chainanylsis following the passing of new Korean crypto regulations. Bithumb will employ Chainalysis’s “Reactor” investigations tool to examine suspicious activity on its platform in a bid to comply with Korea’s recently amended Special Financial Transactions Information Act. South Korean crypto exchanges must comply with new regulations by 2021 Certain provisions in the act will take 12 months to come into effect, with the new apparatus expected to be fully implemented after a further six months. As such, all South Korean crypto exchanges must …

The Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) detailed how cryptocurrencies must be reported on yearly income declarations. Cryptocurrencies are categorized under the “intangible asset” section, though they are also mentioned by name. On March 2, the agency published a set of instructions on how to report ownership of various types of assets in a yearly income declaration. The declaration is mostly intended for government officials, though it must also be submitted by individuals with foreign income and freelancers without a business registration. Cryptocurrencies must be reported under the “intangible assets” section, which generally includes objects with an undefined value, …

Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance has partnered with public blockchain protocol Shyft Network as it readies itself to comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations. The Shyft Network was designed to provide a decentralized solution for crypto industry players to fulfill global compliance standards, including the FATF’s “travel rule.” In a statement shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 27, Binance’s chief compliance officer Samuel Lin said that, until the creation of the Shyft Network, there was no existing infrastructure by which firms could comply with the new FATF rules. As part of the FATF’s updated guidance for Virtual Asset Service Providers …

On Feb. 26, Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan stated that his administration will strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) policies regarding cryptocurrencies. In his recent budget speech, Chan indicated that the amendments will address recommendations made by global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). New regulations to affect crypto exchanges, precious metals dealers The FATF assessed that Hong Kong was “largely compliant” with its AML/CTF guidelines following a September 2019 evaluation. The assessment saw Hong Kong become the first jurisdiction in the Asia-Pacific region to pass the FATF's appraisal. The proposed changes to Hong …

A new platform says it is one of the first in the world to offer full compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s travel rule. The FATF guidelines require crypto businesses to collect and share personal data during transactions — effectively imposing the same standards on this burgeoning sector as those expected of the banking industry. Four months before this rule is set to come into force, the Sovereign Wallet Network has launched the MetaBlock Exchange. Through this platform, every user is given an identity-based wallet so blockchain transfers can be tracked with ease. Executives say the MetaBlock Exchange offers …

It’s been nearly eight months since the Financial Action Task Force issued its divisive crypto directives, establishing traditional banking regulations within the crypto sector. With the year-long adoption deadline fast approaching, how have the world’s regulatory authorities responded to the guidelines so far? The FATF — an intergovernmental organization tasked with combating money laundering — found itself at the center of controversy last June after issuing its latest crypto guidance. The directive merged the cryptocurrency industry into existing banking policy, requiring firms to comply with the same requirements as traditional financial institutions. Among the more notable directives is the travel …

The nature of cryptocurrency fraud is shifting away from exchange hacks, and toward Ponzi-style frauds, pyramid schemes and exit scams. A massive 533% rise in the value of such crimes means that as misappropriated funds are laundered, the traditional banking system is increasingly exposed to risk under upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rules. That’s the conclusion reached by CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency intelligence firm, in a report released today. The Travel Rule requires virtual currency businesses to “obtain, hold and transmit required originator and beneficiary information in order to identify and report suspicious transactions, monitor the availability of information, take …

Ukrainian authorities will be able to “block crypto wallets” in order to seize illegally obtained assets, a notice on the country’s Ministry of Finance says. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s Finance Minister, reportedly said that the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine (SFMS) will be the responsible authority for tracking the sources of origin of the funds on citizens’ crypto wallets. Authorities use an analytical product scanning for the crypto funds’ origins and uses As part of the regulatory policy, the SFMS will be able to not only find out the origin of crypto, but also detect how those funds have been …

Blockchain intelligence firm CipherTrace has claimed that large banks may be processing up to $2 billion in undetected cryptocurrency-related transfers each year. In a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Dec. 16, CipherTrace claims that its research unit has found that every one of the United States’ top 10 commercial banks have unregistered cryptocurrency businesses using their payments networks to process funds. These unregistered cryptocurrency money service businesses (MSBs) include entities such as crypto exchanges, according to the research. Known unknowns While both the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) funds Travel Rules require banks to …

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continues to be a global phenomenon, with adoption and utilization cases emerging in almost every corner of the globe. Digital technology has become so popular that it is now a major talking point not only in the financial sector but also in politics and governance. The seven “-stan” countries of Central and South Asia — Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — haven’t shied away from the sweeping digital technology phenomenon. Whether it be revitalizing Afghanistan’s healthcare sector with blockchain adoption or introducing a waiver for crypto mining in Kazakhstan, digital technology utilization appears …

For better or for worse, the cryptocurrency space is coming of age. Since Bitcoin’s rise to mainstream prominence in 2015, there has been increasing recognition of digital assets from government agencies around the world. In turn, new regulations are being imposed to control the way cryptocurrency companies operate and do business globally. Most recently, the Financial Action Task Force issued new guidelines on how digital assets should be regulated. In order to raise awareness around these requirements, the blockchain security company CipherTrace hosted a conference and hackathon this week in San Francisco dedicated entirely to discussions on the FATF guidelines, …