Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has announced a new proposal to bring increased anti-money laundering (AML) to cryptocurrency transactions.
According to the proposal made by the regulatory body, crypto transactions over 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,025) will require client identification, compared to the current limit of 5,000 francs. FINMA cited the “heightened” risk of money-laundering in the crypto space as the driving force for stricter regulation.
The Swiss regulator’s proposal also meets the criteria for the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) sweeping “travel rules” for crypto established in June 2019, which require greater oversight and client information sharing between exchanges.
The FATF, which serves primarily as a global anti-money laundering watchdog, imposed a $1,000 limit for unidentified crypto transactions under the new travel rule. Crypto organizations and exchanges will be required to collect and share client information on transactions that exceed the $1,000 limit.
According to FINMA’s announcement, the regulatory body will hold a public consultation addressing the new crypto proposal on April 9, 2020.
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