Bitcoin News and Finance
Swiss Financial Watchdog Releases Revised AML Ordinance, Clarifies Crypto Requirements Skip to main content

Swiss Financial Watchdog Releases Revised AML Ordinance, Clarifies Crypto Requirements

Swiss Financial Watchdog Releases Revised AML Ordinance, Clarifies Crypto Requirements

The Swiss financial regulator has published its updated anti-money laundering (AML) ordinance, noting it’s extending the coverage to include blockchain trading platforms. It also clarified certain reporting and identification requirements that apply to crypto transactions.

Financial Authorities Adjust Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Rules Concerning Crypto Transfers

Following consultations that started earlier this year, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has partially revised its Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO), clarifying the application of a maximum limit for unidentified crypto exchange transactions.

In a press release on Thursday, the regulator said that the regulations, which will come into force on Jan. 1, 2023, now reflect the latest amendments to Switzerland’s Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Federal Council’s Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance.

FINMA noted that the collected feedback confirmed its position that the mandatory identity verification of beneficial owners of funds as well as the periodic checks establishing that client data is up to date do not need to be set out in detail at ordinance level.

At the same time, the financial watchdog emphasized that a provision obliging intermediaries to regulate the procedures for updating and checking customer records through an internal directive will remain in place.

The authority also pointed out that the ordinance is being extended to cover distributed ledger trading facilities and further revealed it received many comments regarding the reporting threshold for transactions involving virtual currencies. In the announcement, FINMA stated:

In view of the risks and recent instances of abuse, FINMA stands by the rule that technical measures are needed to prevent the threshold of CHF 1000 from being exceeded for linked transactions within 30 days (and not just per day).

The supervisory agency remarked, however, that this obligation applies only to exchange transactions of crypto assets for cash or other anonymous means of payment.

According to the so-called ‘travel rule,’ which was enforced by Switzerland on Jan. 1, 2020, crypto asset service providers must share identifiable customer data when transferring cryptocurrency, the fiat value of which exceeds the said threshold and prove ownership of non-custodial wallets.

Citing increased risks of money laundering, in February of that year, FINMA lowered the threshold triggering the reporting duties through another amendment of its AMLO to 1,000 Swiss francs (around $980 at the time of writing), from the previous 5,000 francs.

Do you think Swiss authorities will further tighten the reporting requirements for crypto transactions in the future? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory