At Gemini, they believe that the crypto ecosystem must include guardrails and an appropriate level of transparency to protect users from financial crime and fraud.
Gemini claim they have always “been dedicated to regulatory compliance and believe that adherence to the Travel Rule is an important next step in creating a safe ecosystem for those looking to transact in crypto.”
Gemini have recently been in touch with their UK users “to notify them of planned changes to crypto transfers in response to requirements instituted through the Travel Rule, which require Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), like Gemini, to share information about the sender and the receiver on both ends of a crypto transfer.”
Gemini recently provided more details “on what changes will be implemented on our platform as a result of the Travel Rule.”
To ensure compliance with these new rules, Gemini has “partnered with Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST) and instituted changes to our platform designed to curtail financial crime and fraudulent activity in the industry. TRUST’s technology stack allows us to safely share data in order to comply with these regulatory requirements, while prioritising the security and privacy of our users.”
The Travel Rule is a set of global standards “that require financial institutions and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to share information about the senders and recipients of virtual assets.”
The Rule is designed to “make it more difficult for criminals to use cryptocurrencies or other virtual assets for illicit activity and enhance the transparency associated with crypto transfers. The additional information you will now be asked to supply when transferring crypto into and out of Gemini can be used to help prevent bad actors conducting illegal activity.”
In the coming days and weeks, you should “expect the following changes to your experience” on our platform:
Outbound Crypto Transfers (Effective 17th November 2023): To ensure transparency of data, Gemini will “only permit outbound transfers to other TRUST members. Gemini will block any outbound transfers to a non-TRUST VASP.”
When transferring from your Gemini wallet “to another crypto address, we will request the name of the recipient (whether a person or entity).”
To ensure your privacy, the data you provide “will only be shared between the sending and receiving providers, and no one else.”
Inbound Crypto Transfers (Effective 8th December 2023): Gemini may freeze and/or restrict users who are attempting “to make inbound transfers to Gemini from VASPs that are not TRUST members whilst a manual review is conducted.”
This would likely only happen “if transactions are missing the information required under the Travel Rule. When funds are being transferred into your Gemini wallet from another wallet address we will request the name and address of the sender (whether a person or entity).”
Unsupported tokens: While Gemini will permit transfers of all tokens “to self-hosted wallets, only transfers of ERC-20 tokens, ETH, and BTC will be supported to other VASPs. You can still freely trade and hold other tokens within Gemini.”
The firm will be staggering “the implementation of these planned changes and will be in touch over the coming weeks via email to remind you of relevant dates, notably: 17th November 2023 and 8th December 2023.”
