CoolBitX has unveiled Sygna Hub, our latest AML/CTF-focused product to help virtual asset service providers (VASPs) meet evolving crypto regulations.
Hub is a comprehensive new API-based solution that provides an easy-to-use platform with a modular integration of optional AML services from industry leaders such as Chainalysis and Elliptic, including advanced blockchain analytics and sanction screening, as well as Sygna Bridge, our interoperable Travel Rule protocol.
Response to changing regulatory landscape for VASPs
Sygna was launched in 2019 in response to the Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendation 16 update that mandates Travel Rule compliance for VASPs. Since then it has built out a Sygna Alliance network of VASPs and collaborated with the world’s biggest AML firms, including Chainalysis, Elliptic, CipherTrace, Merkle Science and ComplyAdvantage.
With FATF’s latest reviews and updates to its Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Assets and VASPs adding new complexity to the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, Sygna has been broadening the scope of its service offering to better meet the needs of crypto companies.
Sygna Hub and Sygna Gate, its simplified browser-based version, constitute the end result of these efforts, providing VASPs with the tools to build a robust compliance system to fulfill their regulatory duties.
CoolBitX and Hodlnaut CEOs Comment
Juntao Zhu, CEO/Co-Founder of Hodlnaut, a Sygna Hub client, said:
“Hodlnaut is elated to be partnering with Sygna to comply with the regulatory changes in Singapore. We are tirelessly working towards providing a great user experience and collaborating with Sygna will help us achieve the same.”
Michael Ou, Founder/CEO of CoolBitX said:
” The Sygna team has again demonstrated that they fully understand VASPs’ compliance pain points and how to alleviate them through intelligent product design. Sygna Hub represents our most ambitious AML endeavour as of yet.It has required many months of hard work, where we had to not only leverage our existing proprietary travel rule protocol Sygna Bridge, but also combine forces with industry leaders to create something unique for the greater good of the crypto industry as it faces evolving regulatory requirements .”
Key features of Sygna Hub
Sygna Hub aims to solve the following current pain points in crypto compliance:
Integrated and Enhanced Risk Screening
Hub’s integrated third-party blockchain analytics and sanction screening services make it an excellent fit for VASPs operating in countries like Singapore and Japan with mature and sophisticated existing regulatory frameworks.
Both Sygna Hub and Gate offer the latest integrated AML blockchain analytics services from Elliptic, Chainalysis (V1 and V2) and Merkle Science. An integration with Coinfirm is also planned.
Hub offers strong sanction screening and risk clarification support for VASPs, such as enhanced flagging of Politically Exposed Persons (PEP), through Sygna partner ComplyAdvantage.
Sygna Bridge, the standalone VASP-focused Travel Rule protocol, is also built into Sygna platforms at a software level. Sygna achieved live Bridge interoperability with CipherTrace’s TRISA in February 2022, and similar collaborations with other leading Travel Rule solution providers are in the works for the rest of 2022.
Sunrise issue
Sygna previously adopted IVMS101, the industry messaging protocol, and has been working diligently to address the onerous so-called “sunrise issue”, which refers to an uneven roll-out of FATF-required Travel Rule regulation across member countries. As a result, Sygna clients and VASP counterparties that are using different or no Travel Rule protocols will still be able to exchange the necessary data as various features of Hub are released.
“Satoshi Test” for private information identification
An increasing number of jurisdictions such as Singapore, Switzerland, Germany, and Liechtenstein are starting to require further due diligence on the VASP side, which has led to greater demand for establishing proof of ownership of non-custodial wallet addresses.
To facilitate this identification, Sygna Hub’s new Sygna Private Wallet Ownership Tool (SPOT) leverages a “Satoshi Test” by requesting the unhosted wallet address owner to conduct an on-chain-transaction to establish proof-of-wallet ownership.
ISO 27001-certified data privacy & information security
Authorities globally are cracking down on companies misappropriating the data of their customers. As an on-premises-only product, the Sygna Hub portal allows clients to manage all of their customers’ information without the risk of exposure on external servers.
All Sygna products are officially ISO 27001 certified and strictly follow ISMS standards, which can now also be adopted with ease by Sygna VASPs.
Additional Information
About Sygna
Sygna is a line of AML compliance services created by CoolBitX based on the FATF Recommendation 16 “Travel Rule” and other global virtual asset regulations. Sygna aims to help VASPs meet the demands of global financial regulators simply and effectively while maintaining the highest information security standards in order to safeguard user data privacy.
Sygna Hub
Sygna Hub is a comprehensive API-based compliance solution that offers Travel Rule protocol interoperability (through Sygna Bridge), integrated 3rd party blockchain analytics, and sanction screening features from the industry’s leading AML compliance service providers. Hub comes with a simple and optional front-end for compliance teams to use if required.
Sygna Bridge
First-to-market Travel Rule protocol Sygna Bridge is available as part of Hub and Gate or a standalone service. It delivers an API-based messaging service for VASPs to share FATF R16-required originator and beneficiary transmittal information, with support for over 3,000 virtual assets. Bridge features an API interface instead of a front end, and therefore requires full integration within a VASP’s systems.
In April 2021, Sygna Bridge became the first Travel Rule compliance protocol to receive the coveted ISO/IEC 27001 certification, a globally recognized standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). In October 2021, live Bridge client Independent Reserve was granted crypto payments licensing approval in Singapore by MAS.
Sygna Gate
Sygna Gate is a browser-based AML compliance solution that offers a manual, standardized version of Sygna Hub without the need for any technical integration.
