Regulation For The Win: Bitfinex Levels Up Its KYC Game, Following Intense Scrutiny From Regulators

A lot of people in the crypto space are just terrified of regulations regarding this industry because, according to more voices, this is against the very nature of what cryptocurrencies stand for.

The industry should come with privacy and anonymity, and these seem to be regulators’ worst nightmares, compared to their all-time dream: “Law & Order.”

This is the reason for which regulatory issues have been popping up more and more in the crypto space, and more crypto exchanges are starting to flaunt the KYC element, which is so hated by hodlers these days.

Bitfinex’ users are also “under attack” by the feature as the exchange seems to be leveling up its KYC game.

Bitfinex – accused of fraud

The platform has recently made headlines, about a half a year ago, after it’s been revealed that the platform was accused of fraud.

You may recall that the firm was issued a court order by the New York Attorney General’s office, who accused the exchange of “co-mingling funds to cover up an $850 million loss and unlawfully servicing customers in the state of New York,” reports The Block Crypto.

Bitfinex’s chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino said the firm has been inquiring into accounts since before the NYAG launched its inquiry, and made sure to note that the company is “always working hard to improve our controls in place.”

Leveling up the KYC game

Anyway, now the crypto platform seems to be stepping up their KYC control in the wake of regulatory issues that are flooding the crypto space these days.

They are asking users for a selfie with Photo ID and Note as you can see in the image below.

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More than that, there’s also a questionnaire that aims at the source and use of funds information.

“In accordance with the requirements of current anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, and sanctions legislation, we are required to establish and record evidence of the identity and source of funds for all of our verified clients before establishing a business relationship. In addition, we are also required to determine that the account is not being opened and will not be operated for the benefit of a third party,” the note begins.

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The questionnaire continues and states: “Best AML/CTF practices require that we implement ongoing monitoring of all customer transactions and identities. You may be subject to follow up questions and enhanced customer due diligence procedures at any time. Failure to satisfactorily address any outstanding issues or questions can result in, among other things, termination of access to your account and termination of our services to you. Upon completion of this form, please print, sign and send scanned copies of all documents to: [email protected] Thank you.”

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We recommend that you check out the complete note and decided for yourself whether you want to deliver all the required data to the platform.

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