Crypto Exchange bitFlyer Aligns Itself With FATF 'Travel Rule' With New Restrictions

Japan-headquartered crypto exchange bitFlyer is implementing tough anti-money laundering measures in line with global financial crime watchdog FATF's "Travel Rule" for information sharing on transfers, the company announced on Tuesday.

The measures that went into effect Tuesday afternoon local time include restrictions on transfers from the exchange to platforms that don't comply with Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST), a system kick-started by U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) to ensure firms comply with FATF's requirements.

The exchange has set notification requirements for receiving and sending crypto to TRUST-compliant platforms in a list of 21 countries, which includes Japan, Israel, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, the Bahamas and Switzerland. BitFlyer further restricts transfers to complaint platforms in these countries to TRUST-compatible crypto assets such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and several ERC-20 tokens.

Transfers to and from countries not on this list, as well as transfers to private wallets, can be made in any crypto asset available on the bitFlyer platform, the company said.

In accordance with these measures, domestic crypto transfers to and from bitFlyer can be made only to Coincheck, the other TRUST-compatible platform in Japan – and only via bitcoin.

Japan recently vowed to implement FATF's travel rule, which mandates the sharing of crypto transaction information between platforms after the watchdog urged advanced economies grouped in G-7 to take the lead in combating money laundering through digital assets.

BitFlyer's U.S. unit was recently fined by a New York financial regulator for not meeting cybersecurity requirements.

Read more: Coinbase-Led Travel Rule Group Grows Members, Expands to Canada and Singapore