Connect with us

Blogs

Can Crypto Credit Cards Disrupt the Fight Against Financial Crime?

Published

on

crypto credit cards

It is commonly known that the world of finances has the biggest problem with the crime of all existing industries around the world. It has been so throughout history. While the financial world has evolved, so did the criminal activities, and they continue to be an issue. With the arrival of cryptocurrencies, many were hoping that financial crime might be disrupted. However, for now, at least, it appears that cryptos themselves cannot find a way to resolve issues such as international money laundering.

In fact, when it comes to money laundering, the crypto sector appears to be the weakest link, especially because of the nature of digital currencies. The anonymity that cryptos are being praised for means that anyone can get a payment from an unknown source from anywhere in the world. This method can then be used for financing drug trafficking, cyberattacks, terrorists, and more.

Until recently, it was not easy for bad actors to make use of cryptocurrencies obtained for illegal purposes. The number of merchants willing to accept the coins was low, and criminals were forced to find a way to exchange crypto into fiat currencies. However, this came with a set of issues, such as taking foreign exchange risks and then sending the money through wallets and exchanges to a banking system that would allow withdrawal. The banking account was the biggest obstacle here, as it was more difficult to get than opening a crypto wallet, which only requires an internet connection and a few minutes.

The situation has not changed that much, and even these days, criminals are still limited when it comes to spending money in its crypto form. However, large cash-outs by bad actors can be troubling for the crypto industry itself, as it can start a bearish trend that could, once again, crash the crypto market.

Visa’s new move might change things

All of this is something that might change soon, as Visa plans to start offering crypto-funded debit cards. Visa is, by no means, original when it comes to the idea. There were many others that attempted to bring crypto credit and debit cards in the past, but their efforts resulted in failure as they could not comply with regulations.

In Visa’s case, however, things appear to be different. The company’s recent cooperation with Coinbase seems to be directed at bringing a UK crypto card, which will allow users to spend their money directly from wallets. What’s more — they will be able to do so at any location where Visa cards are accepted, which at this point includes pretty much the entire world.

Not only that, but the card’s spending limit is expected to start at £10,000 per month, and grow to £20,000 for certain users.

Regulatory compliance remains an issue

Of course, all of this still requires answers to a few questions, such as — how did Coinbase go about satisfying KYC and AML regulations? There is no doubt that the regulatory environment regarding digital currencies is evolving — and has been for quite a while. Even some wallets managed to find a way to satisfy regulations and comply with the rules, which brought support from the regulators. They are still in the minority, of course, and criminals can still use most wallets without oversight, but the situation does appear to be changing for the better, in this regard.

Even so, with the majority of wallets still not being compliant with regulations, anyone who uses Coinbase could potentially get a payment from illegal sources with nothing to stop them, and with no punishment. But, Visa points out that Coinbase is regulated by the US authorities, and that the partnership between the two is subjected to enhanced scrutiny.

Coinbase itself fights against the issue by blocking accounts that are involved with suspicious activities. However, that would still require that the company notices suspicious activities in the first place. The nature of cryptocurrencies is the real issue here, as even if all exchanges and wallets implement KYC procedures, cryptos still remain mostly anonymous. The only real way of preventing illegal transactions would be to block payments that come from unregulated wallet accounts. However, this would go against everything cryptocurrencies stand for, not to mention that it would come at huge costs.

Additionally, even real, traditional banks have seen such issues, as there are many of them in countries with less strict regulations that might not be compliant with regulations. If the banks have found this issue too difficult and expensive to deal with, how can the crypto industry deal with it?

Crypto institutions will have to find a way to become compliant with regulations if they wish for Visa’s plan to become a reality. Otherwise, the last several decades of the fight against financial crime would simply be erased, and major consequences could come as a result.

For the latest cryptocurrency news, join our Telegram!

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Altcoins

XNO Token of Xeno NFT Hub listed on Bithumb Korea Exchange

Published

on

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 25th January, 2021, // ChainWire //

Xeno Holdings Limited (xno.live ), a blockchain solutions company based in Hong Kong, has announced the listing of its ecosystem utility token XNO on the ‘Bithumb Korea’ cryptocurrency exchange on January 21st 2021.

Xeno NFT Hub (market.xno.live ), developed by Xeno Holdings, enables easy minting of digital items into NFTs while also providing a marketplace where anyone can securely trade NFTs.

The Xeno NFT Hub project team includes former members of the technology project Yosemite X based in San Francisco and professionals such as Gabby Dizon who is a games industry expert and NFT space influencer based in Southeast Asia.

NFT(Non-Fungible Token) technology has recently gained huge focus in the blockchain arena and beyond, making waves in the online gaming sector, the art world, and the digital copyrights industry in recent years. The strongest feature of NFTs is that “NFTs are unique digital assets that cannot be replaced or forged”. Unlike fungible tokens such as Bitcoin or Ether, NFTs are not interchangeable for other tokens of the same type but instead each NFT has a unique value and specific information that cannot be replaced. This fact makes NFTs the perfect solution to record and prove ownership of digital and real-world items like works of art, game items, limited-edition collectibles, and more. One of the ways to have a successful…

Continue Reading

Altcoins

Should Crypto Projects Devote Resources to Community Growth and Marketing?

Published

on

2020 has been an incredible year for crypto as investors have generated windfall profits and crypto projects have seen their businesses gain the spotlight they’ve been looking for.  While Bitcoin has received most of the attention after major institutional investors announced they were accumulating the increasingly scarce asset, many altcoins have also seen their fair share of glory.  When looking at all the big winners of the past year, the first project that probably comes to mind is Chainlink, having appreciated by more than 550% YTD and now valued at over $4.5 billion.  But, the actual biggest winner of the year is HEX with a YTD return of over 5,000%.

I mention both of the above projects as they have each taken slightly different paths to achieve greatness.  Chainlink has devoted resources toward building a fundamentally sound business with many strategic partnerships while HEX has spent vast sums of money on marketing and promotion.  Both approaches are valid, but one thing is certain, it is absolutely imperative for crypto projects to let the crypto community know what makes them special.  Of course, one of the reasons that makes crypto so valuable is the powerful blockchain technology that most projects are utilizing.

Cryptocurrency vs. Blockchain Technology

It’s important to make a distinction between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.  Although they are often used interchangeably, they are different.  Blockchain technology and crypto were both created after the 2008 financial crisis, but cryptocurrency…

Continue Reading

Altcoins

XENO starts VIP NFT trading service and collaborates with contemporary artist Hiro Yamagata

Published

on

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 24th December, 2020, // ChainWire //

The XENO NFT Hub (https://xno.live) will provide a crypto-powered digital items and collectables trading platform allowing users to create, buy, and sell NFTs. Additionally it will support auction based listings, governance and voting mechanisms, trade history tracking, user rating and other advanced features.

As a first step towards its fully comprehensive service, XENO NFT Hub launched a recent VIP service to select users and early adopters in December 2020 with plans for a full Public Beta to open in June 2021. 

“NFTs are extremely flexible in their usage, from digital event tickets to artwork, and while NFTs have a very wide spectrum of uses and categories XENO will initially focus its partnership efforts and its own item curation on three primary areas: gaming, sports & entertainment, and collectibles.”, said XENO NFT Hub president Anthony Di Franco.

He also added “This does not mean we will prohibit other types of NFTs from our ecosystem However, it simply means that XENO’s efforts as a company will be targeted into these verticals initially as a cohesive business approach.”

Development and Procurement Lead, Gabby Dizon explained, “Despite our initial focus, we found ourselves with a unique opportunity to host some of the works of Mr. Hiro Yamagata. We are collaborating with Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to enshrine some of his artwork into NFTs.”

Mr. Yamagata has…

Continue Reading

Trending