New Draft Law in Uruguay Could Legalize Crypto as Payment Method

A new draft law introduced to the Senate in Uruguay could regulate cryptocurrency transactions, and also legalize cryptocurrency as an accepted payment method in the country. If approved, the draft proposed by Senator Juan Sartori would also introduce licenses for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) that would be issued by the government, classifying them into … Read more

Zimbabwe Proposes Inclusion of VASPs in Its Securities Law — Move Applauded as ‘Step in Right Direction’

The Zimbabwean government recently revealed its intention to widen the definition of securities to include virtual asset service providers (VASPs). According to a document released by the cabinet, the proposed inclusion of VASPs into the category of defined securities will be made possible via the amendment of the Securities and Exchange Act. The Money Laundering … Read more

Binance Deploys Crypto Monitoring ‘Traveler’ System to Comply With FATF Travel Rule

Binance announced yesterday it deployed Ciphertrace’s Traveler system as part of its compliance efforts. Traveler is the first system designed for exchanges to comply with the Travel Rule proposed by the Financial Action Task Force. The exchange would be among the first wave of exchanges implementing this automatic Travel Rule compliance system. Binance Implements Ciphertrace’s … Read more

Crypto Travel Rule Working Group Launches 2.0 Protocol ‘Solving the Discoverability Problem’

Just before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published the organization’s 12-month review, a working group called the Travel Rule Protocol (TRP) released its 2.0 version of the TRP crypto application programming interface (API) in order to “simplify the end-user crypto exchange experience.” TRP is backed by big banks like Fidelity Investments, Standard Chartered, and … Read more

FATF’s Annual Crypto Review Highlights ‘Continued Use of Anonymity Tactics’ and ‘Lack of Effective’ Regulation

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published the organization’s 12-month review and the research highlights that only 45% of the 128 reporting jurisdictions have complied with AML/CFT policy and FATF recommendations. The annual review stresses that the “lack [of] effective” regulation makes it “challenging for competent authorities to follow the transaction trail, buying more … Read more

Spain Based Custodial Services to Report Ownership of Crypto Assets, According to New Law Draft

A new law draft approved just today by the Finance Commission of the Spanish Congress would make Spain-based custody services report the ownership of the cryptocurrencies under management. The law, which was stuck in Congress for some time, aims to close a gap in the legislation that allowed some users to bypass the requirements and … Read more

Venezuelan Crypto Regulator Sunacrip Strengthens AML/KYC Requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers

Sunacrip, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog, has recently published a new set of AML/KYC requirements for VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) that establishes new and updated rules about the kind of information these providers must require and share with the Venezuelan government, raising alarms in the cryptocurrency community about what the government could do with this … Read more

New FATF Guidance Applies Regulatory Standards to Decentralized Exchanges, Defi and NFTs

On March 19, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published draft guidance on the risk-based approach to virtual assets. The newly updated guidance now applies anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules to stablecoins, decentralized finance (defi), and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. FATF Defines Decentralized Exchanges and Defi as a Virtual Asset Service Providers For a while … Read more

Prepping for Next Year’s Travel Rule: 25 US Crypto Service Providers Publish Compliance Solutions Paper

A great number of cryptocurrency businesses are preparing for the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rules toward cryptocurrencies, specifically the Travel Rule. This month 25 Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) published a paper that outlines how American-based VASPs aim to comply with the FATF Travel Rule. Digital currency companies, otherwise known as Virtual Asset … Read more