With the inception of crypto in Bitcoin, and for many years after, the idea of ‘Crypto KYC’ was anathema to a large proportion of cryptocurrency users, who flocked to the new means of exchanging value in part due to its security, global reach, decentralization and (somewhat undeserved) anonymity. However, as cryptocurrencies grew and multiplied it was obvious that to reach any significant audience there would need to be regulatory checks and standards implemented both to protect the users from malicious scams and to prevent the network’s use by illicit actors such as criminals and terrorists. To this end, governments and industries have begun applying regulatory measures to cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based tokens and the trend is only accelerating, no matter what die-hard crypto anarchists may wish for.
Whilst many touted crypto as anonymous, this is a fallacy and at best blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and others can be described as ‘pseudo-anonymous’. Whilst there is no requirement to attach a real-world identity to a crypto wallet/address, each has its own identifying number and, due to the transparent nature of the blockchain, each transaction is fully visible, permanent and auditable.Combining this with a few known points in the blockchain ecosystem has led to instances where entities such as Interpol have tracked down and arrested criminals.
Despite crypto and blockchain not being the haven for criminals many believe it to be, it is not a simple matter for regulated industries to adhere to compliance requirements without assistance. Businesses working in the financial industry are required to conduct KYC or ‘Know Your Customer’ checks on their customers before they can legally use their services. This is necessary to prevent the financial services being abused by criminals, terrorists and fraudsters. Most of us will have gone through KYC without realizing it at some point in our life (when providing documents to open a new bank account for example) and there needs to be the same standard implemented for digital solutions using crypto and blockchain technology as there is in traditional financial avenues.
Implementing these necessary KYC checks, and AML checks alongside, takes time and money for financial institutions. Those who cannot afford to outsource the process to a professional KYC company historically have sometimes had to resort to lengthy and legally risky procedures that were not suitable for their needs. The penalty of failing to meet these regulatory standards is high, with fines of millions of dollars, or even occasionally billions of dollars, an issue which is compounded as regulations continue to evolve and change.
In addition to integration costs and potential penalties for legal transgressions, companies (particularly in the crypto and blockchain industries) often have to put up with KYC solutions which are slow and inefficient, costing them each time they require someone’s identity to be verified and forcing their customers to go through and submit repeated and frustrating checks when time is of the essence.
Fortunately, Blockpass is positioned to solve all these problems.
With a revolutionary and unique ‘reusable KYC/AML’ profile, users have a secure and portable means of proving their identity with a single click. This cuts the time and cost of verification to a fraction of traditional solutions whilst also leaving users in control of their own data and privacy. The team at Blockpass is constantly looking for ways to improve and develop the solutions available and changes in regulatory requirements are immediately taken into account, if not preempted. Holding privacy and security in the highest concern, Blockpass is even developing zero-knowledge proof solutions which will see people able to be verified without revealing any personal data whatsoever. For any crypto , Blockpass is ready and waiting to handle the necessary KYC and AML requirements.
The Blockpass platform is fully automated and hosted in the cloud, with no integration or setup fee. Businesses can sign up to the KYC Connect console in a matter of minutes, test out the service, and start conducting identity documents verification, KYC and AML checks. Sign up for FREE at console.blockpass.org.