London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic — which provides technology to major United States crypto exchange Coinbase — has refuted allegations that it collects and sells clients’ user data to third parties for financial gain. In an official statement published on March 4, Elliptic’s CEO and co-founder James Smith stated that the firm has never “enabled the violation of individuals’ financial privacy,” and that such accusations represent a fundamental misunderstanding of Elliptic’s industry role. Elliptic is one of key players in the blockchain intelligence sector, providing analytics tools that allow companies, governments and law enforcement agencies to monitor blockchain transactions and …

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of major United States crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase, has said that Neutrino staff with prior connections to controversial software firm Hacking Team will transition out of their new roles at Coinbase. Armstrong made his announcement in an official blog post published on March 4. Controversy has surrounded Coinbase’s recent acquisition of blockchain analytics firm Neutrino, due to the backgrounds of key Neutrino staff at the contentious software outfit Hacking Team. The latter firm is alleged to have provided its surveillance tools to global law enforcement agencies, corporations and governments — with authoritarian regimes allegedly …

Christine Sandler, Coinbase’s director of institutional sales, has defended the crypto exchange’s controversial acquisition of blockchain intelligence firm Neutrino. In an interview with financial news channel Cheddar on March 1, Sandler said that previous client data providers were selling Coinbase user data to outside sources. As reported, major United States crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase first announced the Neutrino acquisition on Feb. 19, saying it would make use of the startup’s advanced blockchain analytics tools, Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer technology. The move swiftly became controversial as details of the Neutrino’s co-founders’ backgrounds came to light: specifically, their prior …

Cryptocurrency wallet MyEtherWallet (MEW) in collaboration with crypto finance firm Bity are releasing a platform to convert cryptocurrency to fiat without Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. MEW announced the news in a blog post published on Feb. 20. Per the announcement, users of the MEW V5 wallet are now able to exchange up to 5,000 Swiss Francs ($4,995) worth Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to euros and Swiss francs without going through KYC requirements inside the wallet. Users can purportedly make the exchange from any part of the world. KYC procedure enable organizations to verify the identity of their customers …

New York-based blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by venture capital giant Accel, the company confirmed in a post on Feb. 12. The fresh funding will reportedly be used to expand Chainalysis’ corporate operations, which include a proprietary Know Your Customer (KYC) product that allows financial institutions and digital asset trading platforms to vet and verify the identity of their clients. The firm reports that the latest funding round was led by Accel, “with participation from existing investors.” Chainalysis reports that it also plans to open an office devoted to research …

The world’s second-largest stock exchange Nasdaq has revealed that seven crypto exchanges are already using its market monitoring technology, Forbes reported Jan. 30. Just two of these seven collaborations have to date been publicized — the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini exchange, and Vctrade, run by Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings. The stock market giant shared its rigorous vetting system for crypto industry players that seek to use its surveillance technology, known as the SMARTS Market Surveillance system. SMARTS is a cross-market, cross-asset surveillance tool that correlates real-time and historical data with detection patterns to trace illegal market activities, such as …

The Advisory Council of the United Arab Emirates Banks Federation (UBF) discussed applying blockchain in its member banks, according to the Dubai-based English language newspaper Gulf News on Dec. 17. The Advisory Council of UBF, a non-profit organization representing 50 member banks in the country, considered using blockchain to improve Know Your Customer (KYC) processes at entrant banks. UBF’s chairman, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, claimed that the discussed initiative represents an effort to create and maintain a “thriving banking ecosystem.” Participants also discussed issues pertaining to the country’s national digital transformation program and Emiratization — a government employment initiative to …

Cryptocurrency service providers will soon be required to obtain a license from the central bank of the Netherlands, major Dutch news outlet DeTelegraaf reports Dec. 11. The article explains that the measure has been undertaken hoping that it will “prevent such cryptocurrencies being used to launder money obtained through crime or to fund terrorism.” To qualify for a license, providers will reportedly need to know who their customers are and report unusual transactions. All of this data will be monitored by De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank. After the implementation in April of similar laws in Japan obliging cryptocurrency …

An international financial free zone within the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has concluded the first phase of its blockchain-based Know Your Customer (KYC) utility project, according to an ADGM press release, Dec. 4. The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s (ADGM) regulatory body, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) along with Big Four audit firm KPMG have published a review of the project’s “successful” first phase in order to provide key takeaways for members of the financial industry. The review outlines the project’s development over a period of four months, together with a consortium of major UAE-based financial institutions …

26 French companies and five major banks have completed a Know Your Customer (KYC) test based on blockchain, according to a press release by the entrant firm RCI Bank and Services released Dec. 3. RCI Bank and Services, a French automotive financing and insurance firm unveiled details of a customer knowledge-focused blockchain solution trialed in partnership with blockchain consortium R3. According to the press release, the Proof-of-Concept (PoC) test has been conducted in cooperation with the Association Française des Trésoriers d'Entreprise (AFTE), a local network of treasury and finance professionals. As revealed by a participant of the test, RCI Bank …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will use an automated Know Your Customer (KYC) application provided by financial software firm Refinitiv, according to an announcement published Nov. 20. Binance personally confirmed the use of Refinitiv’s software to Cointelegraph. Formerly the Financial & Risk business division of Thomson Reuters, Refinitiv provides markets data and infrastructure, while its portfolio reportedly accounts for over 4,000 institutions worldwide. According to the announcement, the KYC solution will enable the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by adjusted trade volume, Binance, to integrate the World-Check Risk Intelligence database into their internal workflow. This will purportedly allow Binance to streamline the screening …

Scathing reports by regulators have accused traditional banks of inadvertently helping “drug kingpins and rogue nations” – enabling them to commit money laundering, make questionable transfers and evade economic sanctions and taxes. It is a problem that dates back decades. Indeed, an article in The New York Times from 1989 estimated that $100 billion in revenues from cocaine sales in the US alone were ending up in the hands of a violent drug cartel in Colombia. The advent of electronic wire transfers was to blame, with one politician warning: “The bankers are unconsciously and haphazardly and lazily acting in complicity …