CoinSmart has officially joined the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST) to boost its anti-money laundering (AML) efforts. TRUST is a group of crypto companies that have joined a universal standard to address anti-money laundering regulations. The group was launched in February 2022 by major American companies like Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, and Robinhood. TRUST has since spread to Canada and Singapore. Currently, it’s looking to expand to more global jurisdictions.
What does TRUST do?
In financial terminology, the Travel Rule requires institutions to share basic information about their customers when sending funds above a certain amount to another institution. So far, the global crypto sector has failed to satisfy this condition, which has prevented effective regulation. TRUST is a joint venture between multiple crypto exchanges to fill this gap in the industry.
The main aim of TRUST is to assure compliance with the Travel Rule while dealing with user data respectfully and responsibly. To that end, TRUST will be deploying the following safeguards:
- TRUST will not centrally store any user data. The required information will be directly sent from one TRUST member to another. This negates any centralized points of vulnerability.
- TRUST includes a mechanism where the receiving exchange can prove that they are the owner of the receiving crypto address. This ensures that the correct information is being sent to the right party.
- Before joining the collective, all TRUST members must satisfy core anti-money laundering, security, and privacy requirements. TRUST will partner with Exiger, a compliance and risk management solutions provider, to evaluate each group member.
TRUST CoinSmart
CoinSmart has always been a proponent of bringing solid regulatory frameworks into the crypto sector. As such, it was only natural for CoinSmart to join TRUST. CoinSmart CEO Justin Hartzman said:
“At CoinSmart, we firmly believe that positive global regulatory frameworks will fuel the next great crypto adoption drive. Well thought-out regulations provide a safe environment wherein the crypto ecosystem can innovate, grow, and thrive. With self-regulatory initiatives like TRUST, I firmly believe that the industry is heading in the right direction.”
As of now, the current TRUST members are – Amber Group, Anchorage, Balance, Binance US, BitGo, bitFlyer, Bittrex, BlockFi, BlocPal, Cake DeFi, Circle, Coinbase, Coinhako, Coinsmart, Coinsquare, Crypto.com, Custodia, Fidelity Digital AssetsSM, Gemini, Kraken, Netcoins, Nexo, Paxos, Robinhood, sFOX, Shakepay, Standard Custody & Trust, Symbridge, Tetra Trust, TradeStation, Unbanked, VirgoCX, Voyager, Wealthsimple, Zero Hash and Zodia Custody.
