North Korean Cryptocurrency Money Laundering

Considerable detail in recent Technology Review Article.   An indication of how carefully we need to examine and regulate these technologies.  Much more at the link.

This is how North Korea uses cutting-edge crypto money laundering to steal millions

Hackers working for Kim Jong-un have become experts at covering their tracks on the Bitcoin blockchain.   by Mike Orcutt in Technology Review

The US government has just come down hard on two Chinese nationals for allegedly conspiring with North Korean state-sponsored hackers to steal millions of dollars’ worth of digital money from cryptocurrency exchanges. In the process, it has provided a glimpse at the cutting edge of crypto money laundering.... " 

Legal Complaint .... 

Tracking the Movement of Cryptocurrency

Quite an extensive look at the process and how it must be adapted to make sure monetary regulations are enforced.  And how will this further be be enforced under rules like GDPR and other standards?  Implications for the enforcement of smart contracts?

Inside the Standards Race for Implementing FATF’s  (Financial Activity Task Force) Travel Rule   By Ian Allison in Coindesk

The Takeaway:
- Crypto businesses are figuring out how to comply with the Financial Action Task Force’s “Travel Rule,” where all crypto transactions above a certain amount must be accompanied by identifying information.
- Competing visions for the technical implementation have emerged, though there appears to be general agreement on the need for messaging standards.
- Legal and operational issues will be as challenging as putting technical solutions in place.
- The FATF is set to kick the tires of a range of proposed tech solutions in June 2020.

Imagine SWIFT’s interbank messaging system but for crypto.

Hardcore blockchain libertarians would probably rather not. But firms that deal in cryptocurrency have been asked to abide by the so-called “Travel Rule,” and the clock is ticking.

Although it goes against the grain to shoehorn an identity layer onto a technology specifically designed to be pseudonymous, firms have no choice if they want to abide by the law. The shape and form this will take is something the industry must agree on, and fast.

In June 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering (AML) watchdog, updated its guidance to explicitly state that virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, must share sender (originator) and receiver (beneficiary) information in cryptocurrency transactions above a certain threshold.  .... "