PUBLISHED ONDecember 15, 2021 2:00 AM
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SINGAPORE, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VerifyVASP, a leading provider of Travel Rule solutions in Asia, announced that it has secured a strategic investment from Chainalysis, the blockchain data platform that provides real-time on-chain risk management and investigative tools. VerifyVASP supports virtual asset service providers ("VASPs") – which may include cryptocurrency exchanges – compliance with Travel Rule requirements outlined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
According to FATF's recommendations, in order to be compliant with the Travel Rule, jurisdictions should require VASPs send information about a transaction's originator and beneficiary to their counterparty VASP securely and concurrently with the transaction if the transaction is over a certain amount. This recommendation is similar to existing recommendations for information sharing related to wire transfers.
Given the potential for cross-border, pseudonymous and rapid transfers of digital assets, the FATF standards help mitigate against the illicit use of digital assets and manage the associated AML and CFT risks. Because cryptocurrency blockchains are inherently transparent – they operate on public, immutable ledgers – VASPs with the right tools can monitor suspicious activity on their platforms and fulfil their Travel Rule obligations.
"The investment made by Chainalysis is synergistic, a complementary fit towards regulatory compliance and contribute towards building a solid foundation for the digital asset ecosystem. We believe developing a seamless, cost-effective and inter-operable Travel Rule solution is an important building block towards mitigating AML/CFT risks, driving further growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies." - says Alex Kim, Director of VerifyVASP.
When FATF recommended that the Travel Rule apply to cryptocurrency transactions, one of the issues that the industry faced was a technological solution that would enable VASPs to share this information securely, as cryptocurrency transactions take place on open blockchains. VerifyVASP addresses the challenge of unintentionally disclosing personally identifiable data to unauthorized parties and maintaining Travel Rule records by employing the following two principles:
Trustless Security: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of originating and beneficiary institutions are end-to-end encrypted, and accessible only to ordering and beneficiary VASPs, thus providing no access to PII to VerifyVASP or any other parties. As PII cannot be decrypted by anybody else but the sending and receiving VASPs, this secure arrangement requires no trust in parties handling/transporting data and is thus considered Trustless Security.
Auditable Records: Verification IDs, which do not include PII, and Transaction Hashes generated from virtual asset transactions on blockchains are recorded so that each virtual asset transfer can be referenced back to a successful Travel Rule data transfer.
This investment brings together the VerifyVASP solution and the Chainalysis blockchain data platform to establish a more robust and comprehensive Travel Rule solution.
"We are thrilled to invest in this Travel Rule solution partnership with VerifyVASP," said Ulisse Dell'Orto, Managing Director of Asia Pacific & Japan at Chainalysis. "This partnership marries the highest compliance and security standards with the expertise and monitoring capabilities of our data platform. This collaboration demonstrates the maturity of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, enabling VASPs to be compliant with global regulatory standards and building trust in the ecosystem overall." Dell'Orto will join as a member of the board of VerifyVASP.
VerifyVASP will also work with other providers to make Travel Rule solutions interoperable, and welcomes discussions with other Travel Rule partners on the feasibility of integrating different solutions.
About VerifyVASP Pte. Ltd.
VerifyVASP Pte. Ltd. is a subsidiary of Upbit APAC Pte. Ltd. As Upbit APAC is the parent company of operating Upbit entities in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, VerifyVASP will stand to benefit from the close association with regulated digital asset exchanges and will establish a network of VASPs. VerifyVASP provides data services to VASPs, financial institutions, other obliged entities, which will collectively become an alliance of members, comprising of stakeholders eventually owning and managing the service protocol.
About Chainalysis
Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world's most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.