KYC Financial News

Major cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is working to strengthen its Know Your Customer (KYC) system by introducing new mandatory identity checks.

Deepfake technology used by crypto fraudsters to bypass know-your-customer (KYC) verification on crypto exchanges such as Binance is only going to get more advanced, Binance's chief security officer warns.

Big Four accounting firm Deloitte has integrated blockchain technology to allow customers to store verification credentials in a single digital wallet to streamline the “typically inefficient” verification processes.

Internet payment processor Stripe has introduced a fiat-to-crypto onramp to address the "cold start problem" faced by Web3 companies as a result of customers not having “crypto in their wallets to carry out transactions.”

The administration of United States President Joe Biden released a national standards strategy for critical and emerging technologies on May 4. The strategy stated that the United States would prioritize standards development in eight areas. Among the prioritized areas are “digital identity infrastructure and distributed ledger technologies, which increasingly affect a range of key economic sectors.” 

The neobank Cogni has announced that it is rolling out soulbound nonfungible tokens containing Know Your Customer (KYC) information to holders of its crypto wallet. The Polygon-based NFT will transfer customers’ “Web2” KYC verification done by the bank at account opening into a Web3 environment.

The Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission (SFC) is reportedly set to release cryptocurrency exchange licensing guidelines next month.

Starting May 8, Know Your Customer (KYC) identity verification will be mandatory for all products and services offered by cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.

Financial market firms T. Rowe Price Associates, WisdomTree, Wellington Management, and Cumberland have joined an Avalanche (AVAX) subnet to test the idea of blockchain-based foreign exchange, according to an announcement from the Avalanche team. The new subnet is called “Spruce,” and is part of Avalanche’s Evergreen Subnet ecosystem.

Masa Finance’s soulbound tokens will soon be available on Coinbase’s Base network, according to an April 4 announcement from Masa Finance. The new tokens will allow users to link identifying and reputational characteristics to their wallet addresses, making credit underwriting possible on the blockchain, the company said.

DeFi execs at a WOW Summit panel argued that implementing “Know Your Customer” (KYC) measures will tackle the “biggest issue” in decentralized finance (DeFi), which is hackers laundering millions of stolen funds into “clean money.”

A recent article surfaced alleging that Binance employees and volunteers were assisting Chinese users on how to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) and other security protocols. 

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has made significant efforts to be a leader in transparency in the industry since the FTX scandal. However, a new report claims that Binance insiders are allegedly helping users bypass security protocols. 

Last year, the Union government amended the Income Tax Act to impose a 30 percent tax on the transfer of virtual digital assets (VDAs), with a 1 percent TDS requirement. This was hailed as a major step towards legitimising digital assets in India. On March 7, 2023, the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance issued a landmark notification under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) bringing VDAs within the purview of the Act. The PMLA gives the government the authority to notify/identify categories of individuals engaged in a ‘designated business or profession’, who would qualify as a ‘reporting entity’ (RE). This notification is significant since being a RE - which includes banks, financial institutions, intermediaries or a ‘person carrying on a designated business or profession’ - is the trigger for consequences and compliances under the Act. So far, beyond the financial services licensed players, the PMLA umbrella was extended to only casinos, the real estate sector, jewellers, and now the VDA players.

Crypto exchanges and intermediaries dealing with virtual digital assets will now be required to perform KYC of their clients and users of the platform. The Finance Ministry on March 7 notified that entities dealing in virtual digital assets (VDAs) will now be considered 'reporting entity' under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Entities involved in the exchange between VDAs and Fiat currencies or transfer of VDAs or safekeeping and administration of VDAs, and participation in financial services related to an issuer's offer and sale of a VDA would be 'reporting entity' for the purpose of the PMLA. Under the anti-money laundering law, reporting entities are required to maintain KYC details or records of documents evidencing the identity of its clients and beneficial owners as well as account files and business correspondence relating to its clients.

Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) — a group of 31 traditional banks operating in Pakistan — signed off on the development of a blockchain-based platform for Know Your Customer (KYC) initiatives. 

The emergence of blockchain technology presents an opportunity to reexamine and innovate solutions used in our day-to-day life. Blockchains and, broadly speaking, the digital space fuelled by an artificial intelligence revolution urgently need to establish verifiable human identities to ensure trust, accountability and regulatory compliance.

A vast underground ring of know-your-customer (KYC) actors for hire has been increasingly used by rogue developers with the aim to scam Web3 communities, according to a recent analysis by security-focused ranking platform CertiK. 

Credit reporting company Equifax, known for suffering from one of the largest customer data breaches to date, has partnered with blockchain company Oasis Labs to build a Know Your Customer (KYC) solution.

Bengaluru-based weTrade eliminated trading fees for more than 50 coins available on its platform, including Bitcoin, Solana and Ethereum, to make it both simple and rewarding for users. The company offers the most user-friendly KYC experience, while ensuring the highest levels of monitoring to ensure the safety of customer assets. The platform also includes a mature audit and tracing mechanism to ensure customers trade without worry and receive benefits while complying with tax regulations.

CoinSwitch has waived off trading fees on bitcoin transactions for a limited period. However, only users with fully-verified Know-Your-Client (KYC) and