The new system will collect personal data about those who conduct transactions with cryptocurrencies, in order to know where the funds of the users would be sent.
About 15 countries, including those belonging to the G7, seek to develop a system that allows tracking transactions with cryptocurrencies; the purpose is to prevent the illicit use of these digital assets and the execution of crimes with them, such as money laundering.
As it was reported last June, the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plans to prepare by 2020 measures to help prevent these crimes, according to what the agency informed.
The new system seeks to collect personal data about those who conduct this type of transactions, with the aim of preventing the funds from being used for illegal activities such as, for instance, terrorist financing, among others.
According to a report published in different media in Tokyo, these countries would apply the system of measures after having the rules introduced in 2020. Once these rules are adopted, the private sector would administer the tracking system to manage a better control.
A Guide to Avoid Risks
Last June, the FATF issued a kind of guide to explain companies and all types of cryptocurrency users how to avoid risks related to digital assets. Likewise, in that document the FATF recommended to its 37 member countries to apply regulatory measures related to the world of cryptocurrencies.
Among other recommendations of the FATF to its 37 member countries is to monitor and report suspicious transactions executed by local cryptocurrency service providers, so that the security authorities of those countries know where the funds expressed in cryptocurrencies are sent.
One of the most notable results after the publication of this guide was that four cryptocurrency exchange houses located in South Korea, which are Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone and Korbit, allegedly faced a more stringent regulation process when they revealed their bank accounts.
In this way, South Korean authorities could be starting to monitor these type of cryptocurrency companies to make sure that economic crimes are not committed or that vulnerable users are not affected.
Discussions about Crypto-Regulations
Since the social media giant Facebook announced that in 2020 it will launch its own currency for digital payments, this is, Libra, more countries and citizens have opined or begun to investigate the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Since July 18th, G7 finance ministers said they are preoccupied about the role that cryptocurrencies may play in the future as a means of payment. Ministers fear that these digital assets will alter the manner of how the global financial system has been managed until now if they are not strictly regulated.
Although several global jurisdictions have not yet established regulatory frameworks related to the crypto-space, the crypto-mining community hopes that the new FATF’s international initiative will contribute to the development of successful global measures that, as university researchers have recently expressed in Argentina, do not violate the security of users or close the path to technological innovation.
By María Rodríguez
