Last week the European Council and the Commission adopted a statement regarding stablecoins. According to the statement, the lack of legal clarity regarding stablecoins makes it difficult to determine whether and how the existing EU regulatory framework applies. The Council and the Commission also noted that stablecoin arrangements cannot launch in the European Union until regulatory and oversight frameworks are developed. Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced plans to review and update their virtual currency regulations, which were issued back in 2015. DFS is seeking comments from the public regarding two proposed coin adoption or listing options that the agency reportedly plans to make available to current DFS license holders.
CipherTrace recently published its 2019 Q3 cryptocurrency anti-money laundering report. According to the report, roughly 60% of the top 120 cryptocurrency exchanges have insufficient know-your-customer practices. The report also noted that Q3 of 2019 saw a significant reduction in total cryptocurrency crimes from previous quarters, but the total dollar amount attributed to theft and fraud in 2019 is still relatively high at $4 billion.
Elliptic, a global leader in crypto-asset risk management solutions for businesses and financial institutions, recently launched Elliptic Discovery. Elliptic Discovery offers a broad range of risk indicators for financial institutions to identify and evaluate the risk posed by the flow of funds into and out of crypto-assets on exchanges. Elliptic Discovery seeks to allow banks to work more closely with certain cryptocurrency businesses based on an evidence-based risk assessment.
More than 80 Japanese banks have shown recent interest in a leading U.S.-based financial institution's Interbank Information Network, which leverages blockchain to help combat money laundering. If these banks join, Japan will reportedly have the largest number of banks in the worldwide network.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Joint statement by the Council and the Commission on “stablecoins”
- NYDFS Proposed Guidance Regarding Adoption or Listing of Virtual Currencies
- CipherTrace Q3 2019 Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering Report
- Elliptic Launches Elliptic Discovery, Enabling Banks to Identify and Assess their Exposure to Crypto-Assets, and Work More Closely with Crypto Exchanges
- Money Laundering Battle Drives Japan Banks to JPMorgan's Network
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