The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering (AML) watchdog has announced its plan to implement new regulatory measures on crypto exchanges by the summer of 2019.
The Paris-based task force is seeking to issue crypto regulations in line with AML/CFT standards to eradicate the use of digital assets in regard to money laundering and the funding of terrorism.
Crypto Watchdog to Impose New Rules
Reuters has reported the Financial Action Task Force has announced it is planning to implement its new crypto regulations by June of next year.
The organization announced its intentions that jurisdictions across the world will be required to either license or impose regulations on certain sections of the crypto industry this week. The move is an attempt to stamp out the use of cryptoassets to facilitate money laundering for terrorist organizations.
The new crypto rules will apply to cryptoasset exchanges, ICO operators, and companies that provide encrypted wallets in the jurisdictions of members. The FATF will reportedly offer guidance in a bid to monitor the operations of crypto industry businesses in each region, although standardization across the board is the endgame for the watchdog.
The countries themselves will be allowed to choose which AML/CFT category to list current digital currency providers in.
New Crypto Regulations by June
Cryptoasset exchanges will have several months before the exact nature of the regulations is announced. Marshall Billingslea, president of the FATF, was quoted as saying:
“By June, we will issue additional instructions on the standards and how we expect them to be enforced.”
Billingslea also mentioned the watchdog would be periodically monitoring and reviewing the new rules, which could result in certain member countries having restricted access to the global financial markets and systems if need be.
Japan and South Korea are two nations that have already undergone a tightening of crypto regulations across its exchanges. Several European nations like Switzerland, Malta, and France are already looking to regulate ICO projects as regulatory pressure mounts against the industry.
The goal of achieving regulatory standardization across the crypto sphere was once a pipedream, but piece by piece it is coming to fruition. Some believe that implementing crypto anti-money laundering provisions will be a positive step for the sector and will give the industry a boost and raise the confidence of potential new investors.
