Passed as an amendment to Canada’s criminal finance framework last June, the sweeping powers are “expected” to produce an “enhanced AML/ATF Regime”, in Canada, FINTRAC said in the report. FINTRAC is the Canadian counterpart to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the U.S.
Canada’s financial crimes watchdog is preparing to implement its broad new virtual currency oversight powers ahead of the Financial Action Task Force’s June 2020 deadline.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) will begin more strictly regulating virtual currency companies, transactions and activities following after new rules take effect on June 1, according to a departmental report released in early March.
“A major priority in the near term will be the implementation of new regulations arising from recent legislative change” that gave FINTRAC new oversight of the virtual currency space, the agency said in the report.
Some of the highlights include a requirement that companies with $10,000 CAD in crypto activity register as a money services business, which comes with new regulations. Companies must also document sender and receivers’ name, address, birth date, phone number and crypto type for crypto transactions over $1,000 CAD in some instances. More extensive documentation requirements apply to transactions of $10,000 CAD and above.
Violations are largely classified as “minor” infractions under the amendments.
The virtual currency amendments were Canada’s response to FATF’s blistering 2015-2016 assessment of its virtual currency AML and CFT frameworks as “deficient.” As a member of FATF, Canada is expected to meet certain thresholds.
FINTRAC alluded to this “expectation” in its March report, saying “the overall legislative and policy framework must serve Canada’s interests while staying attuned to international expectations.”
Caitlin Long Starts the First Crypto-Native Bank in the U.S.
Long thanked Wyoming governor Mark Gordon for making this possible, as Avanti takes advantage of the special-purpose depository institution law “which is the optimal regulatory-compliant structure in the U.S. for providing financial services around crypto.”
Caitlin Long, a former Wall Street executive who has helped Wyoming enact 13 blockchain-enabling laws, is taking advantage of the progressive Wyoming legislature to establish a first crypto-native bank in the U.S. The bank’s name is Avanti, which means “forward” in Italian.
Long made this announcement earlier today in a series of 29 tweets. She believes that “a critical piece of U.S. market infrastructure is missing – a regulated bank that can act as a bridge to the Federal Reserve for payments and offer custody for BIG institutional money.”
1/ INTRODUCING AVANTI BANK, a new US #bank to serve #digitalasset industry, offering new products svcs not currently available in USD mkts along w/ tech partner @Blockstream. #Wyoming-based. We’re preparing long process of charter application aim to open early 2021. @AvantiBT
– Caitlin Long ? (@CaitlinLong_) February 24, 2020
Cointelegraph reached out to Caitlin Long for a comment, but did not receive an immediate response. This article will be updated if we hear back.
Strict regulation
However, Long notes that this special-purpose depository law has stringent regulatory requirements. According to this law, all deposits – in the case of Avanti, crypto deposits – must be 100% reserved. Avanti will also not be allowed to use deposits for any financial operations of its own – a practice known as “rehypothecation.” Strict Know Your Customer standard must be applied. “DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT trying to use Avanti for illegal/nefarious purposes!!!!!!!!!”, warns Long in a tweet.
Strange bedfellows
Long stated that she has had many long conversations with Adam Back, CEO and founder of Blockstream and an early contributor to Bitcoin, prior to starting Avanti. She believes that Blockstream is an “ideal partner for serving BIG institutional investors that require regulated banks to deliver them services around bitcoin in USD markets.”
However, she states that Avanti will stay “protocol neutral” and will welcome all cryptocurrencies demanded by clients. According to Long, we can also expect to see:
“STRANGE BEDFELLOWS because it’ll attract the best from the crypto traditional worlds. I’m comfortable + have deep relationships in both worlds I am equally comfy in NYC’s concrete canyons as in the wilds of Wyoming.”
Long expects Avanti to open its doors in early 2021. If Long is right that could lead to the influx of a significant amount of new liquidity to the market.
