In the last month, we’ve seen the United States Federal Reserve come after BitMEX for failing to identify customers, crypto intelligence firm CipherTrace report that most crypto exchanges are not collecting enough user info, and the so-called “FinCEN Files” demonstrate that even large banks that collect and report vast troves of suspicious transactions are not doing enough to unbank the bad guys. Suffice to say, it’s a great time to be alive for compliance hardliners and a rough patch for privacy advocates, aside from a healthy recent boost in the price of Monero (XMR). Stepping back and looking at the …

The ease of laundering money in the U.S. before 1970 boggles the mind. Prior to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of that year, there were no federal standards for banks to keep records on activity that fell under the category of “suspicious.” There were also no consistent reporting requirements — it was the BSA that established the $10,000 threshold that stands to this day. But it’s not like the BSA banished money laundering from U.S. shores. It wouldn’t even be until 1986 that money laundering was classified as a federal crime — a landmark in global anti-money laundering. Despite that …

In January 2020, the European Union released its Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive to increase transparency while tackling fraud, money laundering and cybercrimes. The 5AMLD extended the scope of customer due diligence checks, introduced domestic and politically exposed persons, extended the creation of central registrars of beneficial ownership, and extended Anti-Money Laundering checks to majority-owned subsidiaries outside the European Union. Related: New EU AML compliance laws could disrupt the crypto industry In December 2020, an updated Anti-Money Laundering Directive, known as the 6AMLD, will come into effect around the world, and any organizations operating within the EU will need to comply …

The operator of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, 100x Group, has hired a seasoned Anti-Money Laundering (AML) specialist, Malcolm Wright, as its chief compliance officer. In an announcement on Oct. 12, the 100x emphasized Wright's profile as the current chairman of the Advisory Council and AML Working Group at Global Digital Finance, and as a speaker covering key topics that include the Financial Action Task Force's Recommendations for Virtual Asset Service Providers. 100X Group had last week reshuffled its top leadership, removing BitMEX's co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo from executive roles. Hayes, Reed and Delo were all charged …

Crypto intelligence firm CipherTrace released a study on Oct. 1 reporting that more than half of the world’s cryptocurrency exchanges had deficient customer identification processes in place against money laundering. On the same day, the United States government announced that it had formally charged BitMex, a top virtual asset service provider, for “failing to implement required anti-money laundering procedures,” among other things. The two events, surely unrelated, nonetheless appear to be part of an emerging compliance picture. Dmitri Laush, CEO of GetID — an identity verification solution provider — told Cointelegraph: “The recent U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit against …

The EU decided to remove Cayman Islands from its blacklist of tax heavens on Tuesday. The Cayman Islands is a popular jurisdiction for crypto businesses. It was added to the EU's blacklist in February of this year, so it has spent fewer than six months on the list. In 2019, the six exchanges domiciled there were responsible for over $1.5 billion in international Bitcoin (BTC) transactions. Though these numbers pale in comparison to the global leader — the Seychelles, whose 12 exchanges were responsible for $36 billion, the Seychelles remain on the blacklist and are categorized as a nation that …

Recent years have seen the crypto industry mature across the global economic landscape, but it still runs into high-profile snags. On Oct. 1, the United States Department of Justice filed criminal charges against four executives of the BitMEX trading platform — including its founder, Arthur Hayes — for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. One of the executives in question has been arrested, according to a DOJ statement. Furthermore, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a civil enforcement action against BitMEX and three of its executives for violating Anti-Money Laundering regulations. The regulatory body claimed that BitMEX and its top …

A crypto compliance software company says it is constantly unveiling new AML and KYT features — and now offers coverage across 70 countries for more than 2,500 service providers. Crystal Blockchain was publicly launched in 2018 with the ambition of building a better, safer cryptocurrency industry. The brainchild of Bitfury Group’s software team, the company brings together experienced blockchain analysts, award-winning mathematicians and professional software developers. The platform currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Tether, XRP and Litecoin blockchains. As well as serving cryptocurrency exchanges, the Crystal Blockchain analytics platform counts banks and financial institutions among its clients. According to …

More than half of all exchanges worldwide have weak KYC identification protocols — with exchanges in Europe, the U.S. and U.K. among the worst offenders, according to a new study by blockchain analysis firm CipherTrace CipherTrace analyzed more than 800 decentralized, centralized, and automated market maker exchanges and found 56% of them did not follow KYC guidelines at all despite anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The highest number of such exchanges are in Europe — a region renowned for stricter regulations. However, 60% of European Virtual Asset Service Providers have deficient KYC practices. The U.S. U.K and Russia are the three …

In a blog post published Thursday afternoon, Bitmex lashed out at charges that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice filed against the exchange and its management earlier today. Bitmex's statement claimed that "From our early days as a start-up, we have always sought to comply with applicable U.S. laws, as those laws were understood at the time and based on available guidance." What exactly "applicable U.S. laws" are will likely be central to the case. Bitmex has long maintained that it does not serve customers in the U.S., though others before the CFTC and DOJ have argued …

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) director Kenneth Blanco has warned banks to think seriously about their cryptocurrency risk exposure. During the virtual 2020 ACAMS anti-money laundering Conference in Las Vegas this week, Blanco discussed the obligations of banks in implementing effective anti-money laundering (AML) policies. Current FinCEN regulations (FIN-2019-A003) state that it is the responsibility of all financial institutions to identify and report suspicious activity concerning how criminals and other bad actors exploit card verification checks for money laundering, sanctions evasion, and other illicit financing purposes. For many banks, it is still unclear how virtual currencies affect their …

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to focus on bringing blockchain technology to their financial services, along with the needed regulatory upgrades to keep the burgeoning fintech industry clean. Related: Not like before: Digital currencies debut amid COVID-19 For example, on Sep. 10, Switzerland — a global center for the wealth management industry, housing around $2 trillion or 27% of global offshore wealth — passed a reformed Blockchain Act that includes a new set of laws and regulations to support the growth of blockchain and decentralized finance companies in the country. Related: Why Switzerland is becoming a “crypto nation” …