V20 Summit leads to formation of global blockchain association

Following the conclusion of the V20 summit, a group of national trade associations representing the local Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) is planning to create an organization that will provide a “global unified voice” for the cryptocurrency sector on issues such as the new guidelines laid out by the Financial Action Task Force.

“We’ve brought everyone on the journey to create a new body that will assist in establishing a means to engage with government agencies and the FATF to ensure our best interests are understood and valued at an international level,” Ronald M. Tucker, V20 convenor and Australian Digital Commerce Association (ADCA) founder, said.

The memorandum of understanding, which was signed at the inaugural V20 VASP summit in Osaka, will see a “cooperative regime” to establish dialogs with governments and regulators to support VASP, promote industry awareness and its economic value, and facilitate global industry standard compliance.

According to the press release published in Bitcoin.com, the participating parties include ADCA, Singapore Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association (ACCESS), Japan Blockchain Association (JBA), Korean Blockchain Association (KBCA), Hong Kong Blockchain Association (HKBA), and Taiwan Parliamentary Coalition for Blockchain & Industry Self-Regulatory Organization.

Representatives from major cryptocurrency exchanges, media outlets, law firms, and crypto service providers also participated in the event. Notable companies that participated include Bitfinex, Circle, Coinbase, Huobi, Kraken, Okcoin, Coins.ph, B2c2, Bitcoin.com, Bitcoin Australia, Crypto Garage, Deloitte, Diginex, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sentinel Protocol, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, and PwC. There were also Japanese crypto exchange operators, namely, Bitflyer, Bitpoint, Coincheck, Huobi, Rakuten Wallet, and SBI Group.

The initiative follows after FATF said it will ensure virtual asset providers do not operate in the dark shadows by tightening cryptocurrency regulations for its member nations. Under the new measures, crypto-asset service providers will follow the usual procedures of traditional institutions in complying with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) protocols.