FATF Orders All Crypto Exchanges To Collect More Private User Data

FATF orders all of the cryptocurrency exchange to gather even more data regarding the users’ information and these new guidelines will have huge implications on what private information exchanges have to track and collect from the users. In the latest blockchain news today we read more about it.

CipherTrace, which is a blockchain tracing and security company, held a conference and shed light on the new implications of the upcoming Financial Action Task Force guidelines that are expected to take effect in June 2020. The event also featured a hackathon which is a competition where a lot of software developers attempt to build solutions in a limited timeframe and this time they were focused on developing a better industry-wide solution for transferring sensitive customer information while maintaining the users’ privacy. All of the solutions would be integrated into CipherTrace’s Travel Rule Information Sharing Architecture.

In 2019, the FATF issued multiple suggestions for the regulation of cryptocurrencies which heavily impacts the financial institutions that conducts cross-border transactions. FATF is an intergovernmental body that consists of 37 countries and two regional entities that aim to fight against combat money laundering and disrupt terrorist financing. For that reason, FATF orders all of the exchanges to provide more information about the users.

The new guidelines outline new standards that all of the service providers have to implement. All of the asset service providers that offer any of the following services is considered as a virtual asset service provider: an exchange between one of a few forms of digital assets, safekeeping and administration of crypto assets enabling control over them, transferring of digital assets, the exchange between fiat and digital assets.

The FATF presidency will run for a one year term and the senior official appointed to the position that was chosen by the FATF’s decision, the Plenary. From 2018 in July and this year in June, the FATF president was Marshall Billingslea who also was the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing of the department of Treasury. With a one year term, Billingslea proposed multiple ideas that have closely mirrored the BSA’s existent anti-fraud legislation. The BSA is more than 50 years old legislation and aims to eliminate money fraud issues and wire transfer infrastructure improvement.