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 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) renewed its request for countries to implement the "travel rule", explaining that "many" member states have failed to implement the rule. The rule requires virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to communicate the personally identifiable information (PII) of senders to the VASPs of recipients and vice versa whenever the amount transacted is above $1,000. FATF claims that the travel rule is a "key requirement to prevent funds being transferred to sanctioned individuals or entities", and noncompliance "creates significant loopholes for criminals to exploit". Closing the gaps in global regulation of virtual assets is an urgent priority.
The European Parliament voted in the new Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA) crypto licensing regime, and the Transfer of Funds "travel rule" regulations. It now needs approval from the European Council before becoming effective regulation, after which the main provisions start to apply just over 12 months after publication in the EU's official journal, likely in June. For example, on that timeline, the specific provisions of MiCA related to stablecoins will come into force in July 2024, while others, including those on crypto-asset service providers, will apply in January 2025. MiCA will allow companies to operate throughout the entire EU crypto market with a MiCA license granted in one country.