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Privacy coins such as Monero, Zcash and Dash are making it harder for exchanges and custodians to comply with new FATF guidelines. Some exchanges are finding it easier to delist the coins rather than figure out how to adhere to the additional risk management requirements.

CiperTrace's Travel Rule Information Sharing Architecture would allow exchanges and wallet providers to share payment details and confidentially exchange customer know-your-customer information.

The Joint Working Group for InterVASP Messaging Standards IVMS101 standard defines a uniform model for data that must be exchanged by virtual asset service providers alongside crypto-asset transactions. The standard will identify the pseudonymous senders and receivers of crypto payments, with such information "traveling" with each transaction.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released new guidelines for the virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the country, imposing many new restrictions and mandating licenses for operations. The new framework aims to curb money laundering and terror financing using digital currencies. The document highlighted that the regulations are in line with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The European Commission is proposing to prohibit cash transactions higher than EUR10,000 and ban anonymous crypto-asset wallets, saying that crypto-assets should be governed by the same rules as regular bank wire transfers. The proposed rules would also oblige financial institutions that facilitate crypto-asset transfers to collect various personal data of senders and recipients, essentially expanding the so-called Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "travel rule" to crypto-asset transactions.

The Libra Association is thinking of radical approaches to reach the unbanked in certain locations, including a "step-ladder" approach to KYC regulations. The FATF said it is open to working with Libra about potentially building new forms of digital identity. Libra believes blockchain forensics firms like Chainalysis, Elliptic and Coinfirm will help strengthen the case for "tiered KYC" by monitoring wallet profiles and transaction histories. Non-profits in the Libra Association like the Kiva Foundation may play a key role.

Binance will integrate Coinfirm's blockchain-agnostic AML Platform to its cryptocurrency exchange servicing users in over 180 countries and regions for ensuring secure trading for its customers and compliance with the FATF's guidelines to cryptocurrency exchanges around the world.

Ukraine's legislature, has approved amendments that introduce legal terms and definitions pertaining to the crypto space. The new legislation, which aims to transpose the FATF standards into national law, also identifies who is to take responsibility for the oversight of cryptocurrencies in the country.

This year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued strict new global standards for crypto assets. In 2020, the guidance will begin to come into force, while in January the EU's Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) kicks in. The upshot of this is more Know Your Customer (KYC) enforcement, stricter controls on buying and selling cryptocurrency, and increased compliance. Bad news for bitcoiners, in other words, who value their privacy.

"We appreciate the fact that this proposal avoids technology-specific standards like the Swiss-rule and draconian restrictions like those FATF has contemplated. Nonetheless this rulemaking takes a bulk warrantless surveillance regime and applies it to an innovative technology with little opportunity for public comment. This is especially problematic given the complicated implications of the proposed recordkeeping requirements which may, as described in the next section, meaningfully stymie innovation. A fifteen day period is simply not enough time to work through these implications."

Twenty-five U.S.-based virtual asset providers (VASPs) have come together to publish a white paper on an industry-wide solution to travel rule compliance. The solution takes a centralized approach, setting up a "bulletin board" to locate counterparty information and point-to-point information transmission for the required data. In essence, the U.S. Travel Rule Working Group (USTRWG) is proposing a kind of hub through which they can identify customer information and use point-to-point communication channels to transmit that data.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed new stricter rules for crypto businesses, in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. The regulator wants to have enhanced powers to prohibit any unsuitable entity from conducting business in Singapore and wants to regulate and license crypto businesses that provide services outside of Singapore. The MAS will adopt a risk-proportionate approach, taking into account the nature, severity and impact of the misconduct. The MAS has also proposed raising the maximum penalty for contravening technology risk requirements to SG$1 million.

A working group including U.S. crypto exchanges Bitgo, Bittrexis, Coinbase, Gemini and Kraken, are working on a joint solution for complying with Financial Action Task Force rules on sharing customer information via a peer-to-peer "bulletin board." Participants would share addresses on the board and, if another member claims an address, the two entities could then share data P2P to keep personal information out of the reach of hackers.

The Netherland's ING Bank has developed a protocol to assist with the Financial Action Task Force's Travel Rule requirement for crypto exchanges and firms dealing in digital assets. It has also been backed by Standard Chartered Bank, Fidelity Digital Assets and BitGo, and other crypto firms. It was also partly backed by the InterVASP working group which released the IVMS-101 standard, a way VASPs can agree on the format of the message payloads their solutions will transfer.

A multinational alliance of industry leaders are collaborating on the development of PayID universal payment ID through the Open Payments Coalition. PayID aims to simplify the process of sending and receiving money globally - across any payment network and any currency. PayID is open-source, free, and simple to integrate into existing payment platforms. In addition, it provides an end-to-end travel Rule compliance solution for satisfying both FinCEN requirements and FATF recommendations.

"It is important to note that there has not been a sufficient and proper political debate on the balance between human rights and anti-terrorism measures. And as we already have Human Right Treaties in place outlining that mass surveillance and retaining of data of innocent people are a human right infringement, we can only conclude that our Ministries of Finance and Governments are about to make a historical and major mistake that violate their own commitments to privacy. "

"There's a lot to dislike about the AML regime - even if you think it has a good purpose. It doesn't work at all consistently at the big-money level it's supposed to be for; compliance requires financial institutions to act as the cops and costs them a fortune; and it causes lots of problems for ordinary users at the consumer level that it absolutely shouldn't. But AML's the business environment we have. So let's see what they've made of crypto lately!"

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is reportedly preparing to increase the frequency of its checks to ensure countries are enforcing anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules in relation to digital assets, from every ten-years to annually. This will give non-compliant countries less time to comply, raising the risk that they are added to a grey list of countries subject to increased monitoring, although failure to comply will not automatically result in grey listing.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) is coming closer to issuing its virtual asset regulatory and supervisory framework. It has also completed its consultation on developing the necessary regulatory framework to address the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing related to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers in the United Arab Emirates, in order to ensure that the virtual assets sector adheres to the recommendations and requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In testimony before Congress this week, Powell was asked whether the Fed had any "visibility" into China's progress developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). "Yes, we certainly have that," Powell said. "But they're in a completely different institutional context. For example, the idea of having a ledger where you know everybody's payments, that's not something that would be particularly attractive in the United States context. It's not a problem in China."