Merkle Science Joins OpenVASP Association to Support Implementation of FATF Travel Rule
Singapore, 16 October 2020: Merkle Science, a leading provider of blockchain transaction monitoring and intelligence solutions, has joined the OpenVASP Association as a member. OpenVASP is a non-profit organization with an aim to support the development and usage of the OpenVASP protocol for compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
FATF, a global intergovernmental organization to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, announced in June 2019 that its Recommendation 16 — which relates to the inclusion of sender and beneficiary information during wire transfers — would also apply to Virtual Asset Service Providers on cryptocurrency transactions. This guideline is commonly referred to as the Travel Rule and is accepted in 37 member countries of the FATF.
Launched in November 2019, the OpenVASP Association is helping support the building of a tech-agnostic, fully decentralized, and extendable protocol for VASPs of all sizes to comply with the FATF’s Travel Rule. With the support of a growing number of key stakeholders in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the OpenVASP initiative continues to gain traction as a viable solution to ensure Travel Rule compliance for VASPs around the world. OpenVASP protocols are based on seven principles: 1. Travel Rule Compliance 2. Decentralized Approach 3. Technology Agnostic 4. Privacy by Design 5. Broad Applicability 6. Extensibility 7. Efficient to Use.
“Our decision to join the OpenVASP Association is aligned towards our commitment of helping government agencies, financial institutions, and virtual asset service providers better manage the risk of cryptocurrencies and prevent crypto crime.”
Mriganka Pattnaik, Co-founder and CEO of Merkle Science
“We are glad to see Merkle Science joining the Association and very excited to announce this new collaboration which is strengthening the broad adoption of the OpenVASP protocol.”
Delphine Forma, Board Member, OpenVASP Association.
About Merkle Science
Merkle Science provides blockchain transaction monitoring and intelligence solutions for cryptoasset service providers, financial institutions and government agencies to detect, investigate and prevent the use of cryptocurrency for money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal activities. Merkle Science is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Bengaluru, Seoul, and Tokyo and backed by Digital Currency Group, Kenetic, SGInnovate, and LuneX.
About OpenVASP
The OpenVASP Association has the objective to establish and maintain an open protocol for the transmission of transaction information between Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and other parties. Its particular goal is to facilitate robust compliance with Recommendation 16 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), commonly referred to as the “Travel Rule.” The association was established by founding members Bitcoin Suisse, Lykke, Seba Bank, Signum, Avaloq, and MME, with the support of the Crypto Valley Association, IDAXA, and ACCESS Singapore. For more information, visit www.openvasp.org.
