by thetradable
The United States’ Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, which regulates entities dealing with digital currency exchanges, officially became law on Jan 1, 2021.
The United States’ Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, which regulates entities dealing with digital currency exchanges and digital-asset-related products and services, officially became law on January 1, 2021. The reforms strengthen the authority of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) over digital asset companies and allows for them to construct new penalties for violations and amend old ones, and this spells “BAD” in all caps for crypto criminals.
One of the key elements of these massive reforms is explicitly stating that digital asset companies are within their scope by defining a “financial institution” to include “a business engaged in the exchange of currency, funds, or value that substitutes for currency or funds” and “‘a licensed sender of money or any other person who engages as a business in the transmission of funds or value that substitutes for currency.” Likewise, the meaning of “money transmitting business” has been expanded to encompass “currency, funds, or value that substitutes for currency.”
Also central to the reforms are the amended penalties for BSA offenses. Now, additional fines amounting to total profits earned can be enforced as a result of each violation. Furthermore, those who commit “egregious” violations will be prohibited from being a board member of any financial institution in the United States for 10 years. If an offense was found to have been committed by an employee of a financial institution, they will be obligated to pay back their employer any type of bonus received during the year the crypto crime was carried out.
Hence, any kind of organization dealing with digital assets needs to comply with these regulations by establishing, maintaining, and monitoring an AML program in their business so as not to incur exorbitant fines and/or face possible jail time.
What does this mean for Bitcoin SV?
Well, this is absolutely good news for Bitcoin SV. The reforms, in fact, validate its decision to follow the original Bitcoin’s vision of adopting a regulation-friendly mindset since its founding in 2018. According to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, known in the real world as nChain Chief Scientist Dr. Craig S. Wright, “Bitcoin needs to work within the law to be valid.”
With the goal of the global adoption of its token and blockchain, Bitcoin SV aims to work with various national governments not only in catching crypto criminals but also in developing platforms that will benefit the greater good. For instance, EHR Data is using the Bitcoin SV blockchain to record billions worth of healthcare data that will allow practitioners real-time access to the same information. Once implemented, this will aid the opioid crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.