Travel Rule: new requirements for crypto operators and impact on the industry

International anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements are taking cryptocurrencies to a new level. The so-called “Travel Rule,” recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has been increasingly implemented in recent months in jurisdictions ranging from North America to the EU and Asia. The essence of this rule is that when transferring crypto-assets, operators (exchanges, custodial wallets, etc.) are obliged to collect and transmit information about the sender and the recipient of the transaction if the transfer amount exceeds a certain limit.

Travel Rule highlights

• Enhanced KYC/AML procedures: Platforms must not only identify their customers but also share relevant information with the counterparties through which the transaction passes.
  
  
• Threshold amount: The limit may vary from country to country. In the US, for example, regulators focus on $3,000, while some jurisdictions in the EU impose different thresholds in the context of local legislation.
  
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  Liability of operators: In case of non-compliance with the Travel Rule, platforms may face heavy fines and even suspension of operations.
  

Market and user reaction

1. 
   Exchanges and wallets: Major players announce their willingness to integrate dedicated solutions (RegTech platforms) that automate the verification of recipients and senders. It is noted that Travel Rule compliance is not cheap, but helps companies keep their license and the “goodwill” of regulators.
   
2. 
   Anonymity technologies: Some users are concerned that the rule infringes on the privacy of crypto transfers. Against this background, decentralized solutions are gaining popularity, including self-custody protocols, which are more difficult to control through the Travel Rule.
   
3. 
   Industry Perspective: Proponents of stricter oversight believe that the Travel Rule strengthens the confidence of major financial institutions in cryptocurrencies. Critics, on the other hand, see it as a risk of tracking innocent transactions and the departure of some traders into gray zones.
   

Regional highlights

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  Europe: The implementation of the Travel Rule is largely compatible with the requirements of the MiCA Regulation and the AMLD Directive, making the work of crypto exchanges in the EU more formalized and “transparent”.
  
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  US: Regulators (FinCEN) are already pushing for active implementation of the Travel Rule. Exchanges are required to disclose data if a transfer exceeds $3,000, and some states are setting even stricter limits.
  
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  Asia: Japan and South Korea are the first to implement the Travel Rule in laws, requiring exchanges to coordinate among themselves to verify customer information. Mainland China uses bans on crypto operations, but Hong Kong, on the contrary, is introducing its own license regime taking into account FATF recommendations.
  

What to expect next

Experts agree that Travel Rule will continue to spread around the world - including through coordinated measures between major economic blocs (US, EU, UK, G20 countries). For legal cryptocurrencies, this means the need to invest in compliance infrastructure and constant monitoring of regulatory innovations. At the same time, there is a growing interest in privacy solutions and decentralized platforms, where it is much more difficult to circumvent the Travel Rule in full, but it is not always possible to apply it in a straightforward manner.

In general, the introduction of Travel Rule is one of the main signs of the maturation of the crypto industry. Increased requirements may reduce anonymity, but they open up the market for large institutional players and create clearer rules, which in the long term may strengthen trust in digital assets.