Bitfinex will share more data from its users starting in 2025

Bitfinex, the exchange of bitcoin, USDT (Tether) and other cryptocurrencies, will require, on a mandatory basis, compliance with the regulatory standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), called the “travel rule.” So, starting January 29, 2025, users who make transactions for more than $1,000 will have to share detailed data, such as the amount in cryptoassets, name of each platform client, physical address, identification number and date. of birth.

“Bitfinex announces that starting 01/29/2025, Travel Rule data will be shared when sending cryptocurrencies worth $1,000 or more to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) via the API,” the company reported since last October. The data collected will be shared with regulatory entities, central banks, banking authorities, courts and so on.

For entities (corporate accounts), the information shared includes the entity’s name, address, and government identification number (tax identification number, legal entity identifier, or registration number), as read in the release.

The travel rule, which the FATF imposed on the cryptocurrency industry since June 2019, is an anti-money laundering regulation that requires VASPs to exchange information of personal identification on the sender and the recipient simultaneously when cryptoasset transactions occur.

Bitfinex has been implementing the travel rule since last year and has done so in phases. First, until November 2023, it allowed its clients to optionally share data for withdrawals of $1,000 or more. Later that same year, it allowed clients the option to share information after withdrawals of less than $1,000, and additionally automated the process, sending the required data for all transactions that reach the aforementioned threshold.

Now, all transactions that reach or exceed $1,000 must review the Bitfinex API documentation and update their client code by January 29, 2025 to avoid disruptions. It means that the cryptocurrency exchange also will share its users’ data with trading platforms, management applications of portfolios and other cryptocurrency services that integrate the Bitfinex API.

The company ensures that it applies this rule to comply with the global standards that regulation requires of VASPs. However, the measure means “that users will have to provide more information about their transactions, which could make some feel uncomfortable about their privacy,” as he warns Ana Ojeda, better known on social networks as Criptolawyer.

Additionally, new regulations could make it difficult to access certain services for those who do not meet KYC requirements, the acronym for the phrase “know your customer.” With this, there is a risk of excluding from the services of Bitfinex and other providers some users of the cryptocurrency ecosystem who prefer to carry out transactions privately.

On the other hand, traders who tend to make large transactions could find additional inconveniences when having to comply with the new regulations, which would affect their investment strategy, as Criptolawyer sees it.

In any case, it is noteworthy that the FATF, implementer of the travel rule, also supervises the traditional finance sector through the SWIFT network, which is the international communications network between banks and other financial entities. Therefore, its regulations are an approach that it has wanted to transfer to the cryptocurrency sector, subtracting decentralization and privacy from the ecosystem, features that some see as advantages offered by the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The ability to carry out transactions under anonymity is what has driven the FATF and regulatory bodies to demand a permanent vision and supervision of the cryptocurrency sector, although this represents the loss of user rights. Selecting a certain service because it offers greater and better privacy protection options is something that has been changing in the industry.

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