By
Temitope Olatunji
April 24th, 2024
According to TRUST, the membership list increased to 67 firms after the expansion to Europe.
Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST), an anti-money laundering group created by Coinbase and other top crypto companies, provides more services in Europe. Coinbase, BitGo, Gemini, Kraken, and Fidelity established the crypto platform in the United States. After the launch of TRUST in the US, it began operations in Canada and Singapore. In May, one of the custodians of TRUST disclosed that the firm is planning to provide services in major European countries. Recently, the Head of Operations at Coinbase Germany, Sascha Rangoonwala, announced that TRUST gained members from Europe, namely Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Austria, and the Netherlands.
Commenting on the recent milestone of TRUST, Rangoonwala disclosed:
“The expansion of the TRUST coalition to Europe marks a significant milestone in Coinbase’s journey to become the global industry-standard solution for Travel Rule compliance. Our rapid expansion is a result of TRUST’s ability to adapt to different jurisdictions’ Travel Rule requirements while also prioritizing customer privacy and security.”
Coinbase Plans to Popularize TRUST in Europe and Beyond
According to TRUST, the membership list increased to 67 firms after the expansion to Europe. Some of the firms include Coinbase, Binance US, Coinsquare, Trade Station, Zero Hash, Unbanked, Crypto.com, Tetra, bitFlyer, Coinsmart, Standard Custody & Trust, and many others. Nevertheless, the TRUST platform is open to more members; interested organizations can fill out the TRUST Interest form on the Coinbase website. Since Coinbase launched TRUST, it has been actively working to create a global presence which is now beginning in Europe. Lately, many global crypto industries are subscribing to the TRUST solution as an immunity to the wild spreading Travel Rule. TRUST team hopes to provide interoperability across industries in collaboration with other AML solutions soon.
Before the launch of TRUST, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mandated crypto service providers to follow an AML regulation. FATF referred to this AML regulation as the “Travel Rule.” Travel Rule enforces crypto exchanges and trading firms to submit all personal information and transactional details of customers who perform transactions above a certain amount.
Afterward, several tech firms created solutions to protect customers’ identities. One of these solutions was the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST), which was designed and built by a Coinbase-led team of top crypto exchanges. TRUST is a universal and secure platform that complies with the Travel Rule while maintaining the anonymity of digital ledger technology (DLT) users. The platform has many advantages, including a lack of central storage of personal data, proof of ownership, and maintaining core security & privacy standards.
The recent presence of TRUST in Europe is one of the many plans of Coinbase to spread the tentacles of the “Travel Rule” solution. The TRUST platform currently allows transactions in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other ERC-20 tokens. There could be an addition of other blockchain networks soon.