FATF to release new policies for global digital asset industry affecting crypto exchanges, custodians, hedge funds: Report

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will reportedly release a note to clarify how participant nations should manage the digital assets sector, Bloomberg reported citing FATF spokeswoman Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel.

As per the report, the new rules are applicable to businesses dealing with tokens and cryptocurrencies, including crypto exchanges, custodians and crypto hedge funds.

FATF, an intergovernmental organization established through the initiative of the G7, will require firms ranging from major exchanges like Coinbase to asset managers like Fidelity Investments to gather data from its customers with transactions worth more than $1,000 or 1,000 euros.

They will also need to provide information about the recipients of the funds and forward that data to the recipient’s service provider along with data on each transaction. In addition, the upcoming policy may be subject to the interpretation of different national regulators.

Bloomberg noted that several industry participants are concerned with the forthcoming regulation. For instance, Bittrex’s chief compliance and ethics officer John Roth said the new FATF law will require blockchain technology to either restructure completely and fundamentally or require a global parallel system.

Hedge fund Arca’s chief legal officer Phil Liu also commented that impending policy will result in increased compliance costs for crypto businesses, with non-compliant ones facing a threat of closing down.

The news came just after G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have welcomed efforts of global regulators on cryptocurrencies and have recommended considering multilateral responses as needed.