Category: Regulation

Israel to impose new AML rules on digital currencies

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Regulation
Israel is bringing its digital currency industry under the purview of its anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations. The move is meant to stamp out crime from the sector and give it legal recognition and certainty. Israel’s Authority for Combating Terror Financing and Money Laundering recently announced that it’s seeking to raise its monitoring of digital currency transactions. Authority Director Shlomit Wegman said that the move would give the agency the ability to stamp out crime from Bitcoin. With the new regulations, virtual currency service providers (VASPs) now have clear standards to operate under, Wegman…

Register of True Owners of Anonymous Companies on Track to Become a Worldwide Requirement

Regulation
The Financial Action Task Force’s proposed measures for strengthening the global standard a positive development in eliminating corporate secrecy Transparency International welcomes the proposed amendments to the global standard on company ownership, released yesterday. The draft revisions, put forward by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following a three-day plenary, have the potential to significantly strengthen countries’ resistance to dirty money. Most notably, FATF is finally gearing up to require that all countries set up a beneficial ownership register or use an alternative mechanism with equal efficiency. The encouragement for countries to make the registers public falls short of Transparency…

How Governments Around the World Regulate Cryptocurrency

Digital Currencies, Regulation
In the early days of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies operated in a gray area of the economy, their applications as unique as they were unregulated. But since then, as financial institutions have entered the industry and adoption has soared, the risk calculus has changed for regulators. While governments around the world have taken major steps to combat cybercrime and protect the users of cryptocurrencies, many believe the work is far from over. For this reason, it’s critical for investors, businesses, and institutions in the industry to understand both how governments regulate cryptocurrencies and how industry leaders can push the conversation forward.…

Chinese Regulators Unite Forces to Crack Down on Crypto

Digital Currencies, Regulation
The Chinese central bank is setting up a “coordination mechanism” with state agencies to continue battling crypto. The Chinese government is getting more serious about cracking down on the cryptocurrency industry as state authorities are bringing forces to combat crypto operations in the country. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) officially announced on Friday a set of new measures to fight against crypto adoption in China, including promoting stronger inter-departmental coordination in cracking down crypto activity. 10 Chinese state authorities, including the PBoC, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Public Security, have established a “coordination mechanism” to…

29 Crypto Exchanges Meet Registration Deadline But Face Challenges

Digital Currencies, Regulation
Twenty-nine of Korea’s 66 cryptocurrency exchanges met a legal deadline to put themselves under regulatory supervision, but they still face challenges, market insiders said Sunday, such as risks from legal breaches and an inability to convert coins into Korean won. The Financial Services Commission said Saturday that 29 exchanges submitted applications to register their businesses by Friday and will process them within three months, legitimizing their status as market players but also subjecting them to regulatory monitoring and supervision. The registration brings them out of local legal blind spots, but the exchanges now have to abide by global rules on…

Transforming to a Forward Looking Regulator – Nikhil Rathi, FCA CEO

Regulation
Highlights Being more innovative – data is the lifeblood of a modern regulator. Being more assertive – acting decisively and being clear about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and where the limitations lie. Being more adaptive – working flexibly to respond to ever-changing challenges. Measuring our success – we will be clearer on what outcomes matter and what metrics we use to measure them. When I became CEO last October, I joined a purposeful organisation. Our people working round the clock with great energy and to great effect to stand up for consumers and businesses affected by the…

European Commission Overhauls Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Rules

Money Laundering, Regulation
The European Commission has today presented an ambitious package of legislative proposals to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules. The package also includes the proposal for the creation of a new EU authority to fight money laundering. This package is part of the Commission’s commitment to protect EU citizens and the EU’s financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing. The aim of this package is to improve the detection of suspicious transactions and activities, and to close loopholes used by criminals to launder illicit proceeds or finance terrorist activities through the financial system. As…

Binance Crackdown: Regulators Tussle with the “Wild West” World of Crypto

Digital Currencies, Regulation
Changpeng Zhao’s company Binance is everywhere and yet based nowhere. The cryptocurrency exchange has processed trillions of dollars in trades this year as it transfers digital and conventional money around the world through a constellation of affiliates. And yet it has no headquarters. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the company has grown at extraordinary speed into a leading player in the fledgling industry. But the 44-year-old Canadian-Chinese mogul’s business empire is now attracting intense scrutiny from global watchdogs as they grapple with new financial entities that act in many jurisdictions but are rooted in none. Binance has led a peripatetic…

Binance CEO ‘Responds to Global Regulatory Pressure Calling Compliance a Journey’

Digital Currencies, Regulation
“We are seeing wider adoption of cryptocurrencies globally and the need for clearer regulatory frameworks in different countries,” said CZ. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has likened the recent pressures by regulators against his exchange business to that of the initial development of the car. In an open letter on Wednesday, CZ said the adoption and development of crypto contained many parallels to regulations around automobiles in that “laws and guidelines were developed along the way.” “We are seeing wider adoption of cryptocurrencies globally and the need for clearer regulatory frameworks in different countries,” said CZ. “More regulations are, in…

AML Compliance Mandatory for Foreign Crypto Exchanges, says Korean Regulator

Digital Currencies, Regulation
South Korea’s strict crypto regulatory oversight is now extending to overseas exchanges that offer cryptocurrency trading services denominated in the country’s currency. Eun Sung-soo, chairman of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), said that foreign crypto exchanges that deal in the Korean won must comply with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards. According to The Korea Herald on Tuesday, Eun made these comments while fielding questions from lawmakers about the FSC’s plans to regulate crypto exchange giant Binance. Eun reiterated the need for overseas exchanges offering won-denominated crypto trading pairs to comply with the same Anti-Money Laundering standards as platforms…

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…

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…