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- 1 Prevention of bad actors from using cryptocurrencies to launder money becomes effortless with The Crypto Travel rule.
- 2 Requesting and obtaining transaction details from the cryptocurrency business and VASPs made tracing activities relaxing.
The introduction of cryptocurrency came up with several criticisms, mainly related to security and money laundering. The Crypto Travel Rule played a key role in preventing these criticisms and making transactions more glassy and secure. The Travel Rule was first used by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and is then applied to businesses handling crypto-related activities.
Let’s explore how The Crypto Travel Rule is holding the steering of crypto trains.
An Overview of The Crypto Travel Rule
To prevent bad actors from the use of digital assets for money laundering, the concept of The Crypto Travel Rule was introduced to the crypto world. The upsurge in digital crime and money laundering action boomed the need for regulations that possess high levels of security and transparency to crypto transactions. The Crypto Travel Rule is a regulatory requirement that commands cryptocurrency service providers to detail transaction information in order to mitigate money laundering and illicit activities. Details of the sender and receiver for a digital asset transfer are shared to make a secure and transparent transaction.
In 2016, the regulation was first adopted by FATF to mitigate illicit actions and is further applied to businesses working with cryptocurrencies. Before applying the same to crypto businesses, the rules were updated in 2021. The Crypto Travel Rule simply identifies the source and destination of the crypto transactions including cryptocurrency exchanges, hosted wallets, banks, crypto-custodial solutions, over-the-counter (OTC) traders, and other financial bodies.
Cryptocurrency caused historical concerns for government bodies and regulators, that boomed the need for rules to prevent money laundering and anti-terrorist financing. FATF as a recommendation, introduced The Crypto Travel Rule to overcome all these concerns. FATF was introduced by the G7 and in Paris, the initial remit in 1989 to prevent activities that cause harm to the crypto world. FATF is currently streaming in 200 countries with 39 members as a global response to detrimental challenges.
Applying the Crypto Travel Rule, businesses and VASPs need to share customers’ information while making a transaction. The information includes the name and wallet address of the sender, the sender’s physical address, date and place of birth, national and customer identity number, and the name and wallet address of the recipient.
Challenges with the Rules
Prevention and mitigation of illicit actions including money laundering, terrorist financing, and payment become effortless with The Crypto Travel Rule. Apart from the glassy and secure transactions, The Crypto Travel Rule somehow affects the crypto users.
There are high chances of violation of user privacy as every Bitcoin transaction needs the disclosure of personal information which can be viewed as a posing issue, privacy violation, and data security. In addition to this, the emerging cryptocurrency regulations are leading the crypto world towards centralization.
Conclusion
The Crypto Travel Rule, a recommendation by FATF, boosted the security and transparency in crypto transactions by mitigating the issues related to digital crime and money laundering. The concept was applied to the crypto business and VASPs in 2021, making transactions more glassy and secure.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
