Regulated crypto exchange SBI VC (spun out from SoftBank), based in Japan, is now FATF compliant.
Earlier this year FATF announced a set of requirements regarding “virtual asset service providers” or VASPs (mainly crypto exchanges). These new rules require the tracking and storing of all trading or exchange transactions by VASPs. This includes both buyers and sellers. The crypto industry complained about the new requirements but, in reality, they must all comply.
Now it appears that SBI VC is one for the first to adhere to the FATF rules and they are doing so by incorporating CoolBitX technology. This past spring, CoolBitX CEO Michael Ou was invited to closed-door FATF private sector discussions on virtual asset KYC, according to the company. This meeting was the genesis of a new CoolBitX service.
According to a note from CoolBitX, a blockchain security firm that provides wallets for digital assets, they have launched a new product called Sygna which is said to allow for “fully compliant virtual asset transactions across multiple crypto service providers, individuals, and institutions.”
Sygna is designed to remove the burden of KYC from exchanges by ensuring that all users are “KYC’ed” via their wallet. Sygna is said to be one of less than a handful of solutions that are FATF compliant around the world.
Ou says that now that FATF has established firm KYC/AML guidelines for the virtual asset industry, regulating VASPs in the same way as other financial institutions, the crypto industry must adapt.
“This partnership with SBI VC is a crucial aspect to having and maintaining better security on the exchange,” says Ou. “Currently, most KYC/AML responsibilities lie with the exchanges to ensure all transactions and individuals are legitimate. CoolBitX is happy to work with SBI VC by providing the CoolXWallet, and help in SBI VC’s effort to implement best practices in the area of KYC/AML for digital assets.”
Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, President & CEO of SBI Holdings, says that back in 2017 Japan became the first jurisdiction in the world to define virtual currency as a legal term while providing regulatory guidances for VASPs.
“Very early on, the [Japanes] Financial Services Agency wanted to provide protection to crypto-asset service customers and to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Using CoolBitX’s technology, CoolXWallet has given SBI VC an easy way to protect our customers while complying with Japanese and international KYC standards,” says Kitao.
As digital assets tend to be borderless, a KYC process needs a service that is not constrained by geographic boundaries.
“Because of that, we are excited to implement the wallet as a secure system to drive cryptocurrency adoption forward.”
CoolBitX says that Sygna is now available to other market participants. So whether you partners with CoolBitX or not, you are still required to adhere to the FATF requirements.