Category: Digital Currencies

South Korean authorities seize $47 Million in cryptocurrency from tax evaders

Digital Currencies, Tax Evasion
Cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars has been seized by South Korean authorities More than 53 billion Korean won ($47 million) in cryptocurrency assets were seized from 12,000 people accused of attempting to hide money from the government In order to comply with upcoming industry regulations, a number of digital asset platforms have begun to delist high-risk coins Thousands of tax evaders have been identified by South Korean authorities as part of a growing crackdown on tax dodging among cryptocurrency investors. The government is said to have seized cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars after a lengthy investigation. It was the largest…

Binance Holdings is under investigation by the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Services

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion
[NEW YORK] Binance Holdings is under investigation by the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service, ensnaring the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange in US efforts to root out illicit activity that’s thrived in the red-hot but mostly unregulated market. As part of the inquiry, officials who probe money laundering and tax offenses have sought information from individuals with insight into Binance’s business, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because the probe is confidential. Led by Changpeng Zhao, a charismatic tech executive who relishes promoting tokens on Twitter and in media interviews, Binance has…

Dutch Central Bank reverses decision on tighter checks for crypto withdrawals

Digital Currencies, Law, Regulation & Guidance
The Dutch Central Bank, DNB, has reversed its decision to enforce stricter measures for withdrawing cryptocurrencies from exchanges, according to Dutch crypto exchange Bitonic. In January, the central bank set out rules that required crypto exchanges to collect additional data from their users when they withdraw cryptocurrencies. Namely, users had to add the recipient address — where they are sending funds to — to their whitelist and provide a photo to “prove” that they indeed owned the address. Crypto exchanges in the region, such as Bitstamp and Bitonic, swiftly started enforcing the requirements. The central bank’s reversal on the policy…

Former Australian head of world’s largest crypto exchange calls for more regulation

Digital Currencies, Law, Regulation & Guidance
The former Australian head of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has called for greater regulation of crypto trading platforms as more institutional and retail investors begin to eye off digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum. Jeff Yew, who resigned as Binance Australia’s chief executive officer in April, said he believed while Australia was more advanced with its regulation compared with other economies, much more still needed to be done to prevent everyday investors from being exploited by dodgy operators. “It really hurts me to see players exploiting that lack of [regulatory] clarity with users,” he said. “That’s not…

Hong Kong to Bar Retail Investors from Crypto Trading

Digital Currencies, Law, Regulation & Guidance
Hong Kong’s FSTB has issued consultation conclusions on the new licensing regime for VASPs and a new registration regime for precious metals dealers. Hong Kong’s FSTB (Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau) has published consultation conclusions setting out the new AML/CTF requirements that will be introduced for the VASP (virtual asset services provider) and DPMS (dealers in precious metals and stones) sectors. In November 2020, the FSTB issued a consultation on legislative proposals to introduce a new licensing regime for VASPs, as well as a two-tier registration regime for the DPMS sector, among other amendments. The consultation received 79 submissions,…

FATF’s Proposed Updated Guidance for Cryptocurrency Regulation

Digital Currencies, Regulation
On March 19, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released proposed updates to its 2019 guidance for how member jurisdictions should regulate and supervise the cryptocurrency ecosystem. If adopted by FATF and implemented by member jurisdictions, the new guidance would expand the definition of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to include many non-custodial cryptocurrency businesses, making them subject to AML/CFT regulations. While Chainalysis is in favor of regulations that effectively prevent financial crime, we believe parts of the proposed guidance overreach by placing an unreasonable regulatory burden on new and emerging cryptocurrency markets where no evidence of criminal activity…

Terrorists still raise money through crypto but the impact is limited

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Terrorism
Evidence suggests crypto’s role in terrorism remains relatively minor: “It has not yet become a primary means of terror financing.” We’re living today “amidst an explosion of risk related to fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, and data privacy,” said United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in February — and she specifically cited cryptocurrencies as a “tool to finance terrorism.” Yellen appeared to be flagging an important new turn in the war against terror, and it begged some questions: Is crypto in the hands of terrorists a real, present danger to governments and society? If so, should the cryptocurrency and blockchain…

Ireland stops anonymity in trading of cryptocurrency

Digital Currencies, Regulation
BUYERS and sellers of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are no longer able to trade virtual assets anonymously in Ireland under an expanded anti-money laundering regime. As of today, cryptocurrency service providers in Ireland will have to comply with money laundering rules and other basic regulations for the first time. This means that they must register with the Central Bank and carry out due diligence on their customers, which entails accounting for the origin and destination of client assets. The Central Bank has warned all companies that exchange or transfer virtual assets like Bitcoin, as well as those that provide financial…

Ireland to enforce AML checks for digital currency firms from April in line with 5AMLD

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Terrorism
Ireland will impose anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements for digital currency firms starting April 2021. With the new regulations, the Irish central bank will have more oversight over the industry. Buyers and sellers of digital currencies will no longer be able to transact anonymously, local daily Irish Independent reports. Digital currency firms, also known as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), will now have to complete due diligence on their clients. This is after the European nation adopted the EU’s Fifth Anti Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). 5AMLD is the EU’s latest legal framework for combating…

AFME calls for regulatory certainty on the treatment of crypto assets

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Terrorism
The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has called for UK authorities to provide regulatory certainty on the treatment of crypto assets in its response to HM Treasury’s consultation on the UK approach to crypto assets and stable coins. AFME has also pushed for a review of existing financial services legislation to identify and address obstacles to distributed ledger technology (DLT) innovation. The association has recommended a more “granular crypto-asset taxonomy” to clarify the treatment of existing use cases that will support the UK approach to fulfil regulatory objectives and encourage innovation. This will support greater certainty on which…