NSX Limited, the operator of the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSXA), is working on a joint blockchain-based project to enable same-day settlements. According to a Feb. 20 announcement, NSX has partnered with iSignthis (ISX), a publicly listed firm specializing in payment authentication services, to establish a new venture that would provide “multicurrency, real-time and same day clearing of share trades across multiple exchanges.” CHESS system will meet new competitor, DESS Dubbed ClearPay, the new venture will develop a delivery versus payment (DvP) platform that is designed to replace the existing system of clearing and settlement process offered by current …

The Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) has arrested two men for allegedly laundering money with cryptocurrencies. According to a statement released by the International Revenue Service on Feb. 18, the two men were arrested on Feb. 17 in connection to two separate criminal investigations into money laundering using cryptocurrencies. Both investigations were led by the National Office for Serious Fraud, Environmental Crime and Asset Confiscation. The money trail One of the suspects was a 45-year-old man who is accused of laundering 2.1 million euros. He purportedly used large purchases with a cryptocurrency-backed credit card that the Netherlands tax …

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) published a new set of rules for suspicious transactions, Russian finance publication RBC reported on Feb. 17. The update broadly categorizes any cryptocurrency-linked transaction as a potential money laundering risk. The bank issued an update to directive 375-P, which lists all signs of suspicious activity that may be linked to money laundering. This is the first such update since 2012, when the initial regulations were introduced. The manual was developed in collaboration with the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring). A central bank representative explained that this was done to “add new schemes of …

It’s been nearly eight months since the Financial Action Task Force issued its divisive crypto directives, establishing traditional banking regulations within the crypto sector. With the year-long adoption deadline fast approaching, how have the world’s regulatory authorities responded to the guidelines so far? The FATF — an intergovernmental organization tasked with combating money laundering — found itself at the center of controversy last June after issuing its latest crypto guidance. The directive merged the cryptocurrency industry into existing banking policy, requiring firms to comply with the same requirements as traditional financial institutions. Among the more notable directives is the travel …

Oil is central to the growth of the global economy and maintenance of political stability. But for an industry that plays such an important role in both shaping and maintaining the world around us, its business model is quickly becoming outdated. As the industry struggles to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing and politically charged world, some of the largest oil companies are looking to modernize through blockchain. Moreover, governments around the world are struggling to come to terms with the consequences of climate change, and the extraction of fossil fuels does nothing to help reduce emissions. As …

Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, the venture arm of the fourth-largest bank in the U.S., is contributing $5 million to Elliptic’s Series B funding round. According to a Feb. 13 press release, the investment will help the company build products for large financial institutions. The latest investment brings Elliptic’s Series B raise to more than $28 million. Previous investors include Japan’s SBI Group and Santander InnoVentures, an investment branch of the Spanish bank. The additional resources will be used to fuel Elliptic’s expansion in Asia. Additionally, the company hopes to accelerate development of Elliptic Discovery, a compliance solution for banks. The …

A major global company that helps fight illicit cryptocurrency-related activity does not think that privacy in crypto markets is necessarily bad. Despite representing one of the primary sources of crypto transaction data for federal agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI, Chainalysis does not exactly oppose the privacy and decentralization of crypto. “Complete transparency is not necessarily an ideal place” Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CSO at blockchain and crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, reiterated his stance to privacy in crypto, claiming that full transparency of cryptocurrency transactions might not turn out to be the best situation. Speaking in an …

Larry Harmon, the CEO of Bitcoin media site Coin Ninja and founder of crypto wallet provider DropBit, is facing federal charges related to his use of Bitcoin privacy tools. United States federal prosecutors are charging Harmon with conspiracy to launder money and operating a money transmitting business without a FinCEN license. According to an arrest warrant filed earlier this month, Harmon allegedly laundered over 354,468 Bitcoins (BTC) (worth $311 million at the time of the transactions), allowing the users of a privacy tool named Helix, and a darknet search engine named Grams, to make transactions on AlphaBay, a known dark …

Chainalysis is rolling out a global compliance solution for Tether (USDT), a Feb. 12 press release announced. The stablecoin’s issuer is now able to identify “high risk” transactions occurring on its network. The tracking is made possible by Chainalysis’ Know Your Transaction (KYT) suite, which allows token issuers to monitor the activity of their assets. The real-time Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution assists compliance efforts by tracking the entire chain of a token’s life, from issuance to redemption. KYT provides both an API and a user interface to track suspicious activity, with various filtering tools. Preparing for regulators Tether representatives did …

India has developed a somewhat paradoxical relationship with cryptocurrencies, blockchain and other emerging technologies. On one hand, the Indian government is a huge proponent of distributed ledger technology, with several government-led initiatives gaining ground across the country. On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of India issued a de facto ban on cryptocurrencies when it prohibited banks from conducting any transactions or dealings involving digital assets and related services in 2018. Related: Cryptocurrency Regulation: An Indian Perspective Grappling for legitimacy This measure came as a huge blow to the country’s crypto ecosystem, and since then, India’s crypto community has been …

The European Union lately has been a hotbed for political and regulatory developments that could have a considerable impact on the day-to-day operations of the continent’s financial service providers. While the United Kingdom finally following through on its pledge to leave the bloc introduced political uncertainty for businesses with U.K. operations, implementation of new EU-wide Anti-Money Laundering legislation brought about regulatory certainty — along with the compliance burden that invariably comes with it. On another note, European financial authorities are increasingly vocal about their intentions to create a new regulatory framework for digital assets that would balance robust security measures …

The deputy director of the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) says the cryptocurrency sector must not abet a “slide backward” in money laundering prevention. FinCEN deputy director Jamal El-Hindi made his remarks during a speech at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association 20th Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crimes Conference in New York City on Feb. 6. FinCEN won’t allow AML oversight to “slide backward” El-Hindi opened his speech noting the particular complexity of the securities and futures industry, which comprises a dense web of transactions and interactions between inter-related parties. This “amazingly complex” landscape includes but …