Crypto RegTech Explained: How Compliance Technology Keeps Exchanges Safe
Key Takeaways RegTech is the essential software layer that enables crypto platforms to automate anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), sanctions screening, and Travel Rule compliance at scale. The regulatory environment has tightened drastically in 2026, highlighted by the full enforcement of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and the Financial Action Task […]
Beyond USDC: Inside Circle’s $22B Infrastructure Playbook for Crypto Builders
Key Takeaways Circle has moved well beyond being a stablecoin company. Its stock trades at a ~98x forward P/E because investors are pricing in a blockchain (Arc), a federal bank charter (Circle National Trust), a payments network processing ~$23B annualized volume, and an AI agent payments stack — not just USDC reserve income. The institutional […]
Why Most KYT Programs Fail, and What Regulators Check During Audits
Key Takeaways Most Know Your Transaction (KYT) programs fail regulatory examinations not because the monitoring software missed a transaction, but because operators cannot evidence the human decisions made after an alert fired. Know Your Customer (KYC) is a point-in-time identity snapshot. A user with an unblemished onboarding file can easily receive funds two hops from […]
Crypto Tracing as a Compliance Requirement: What VASPs and Exchanges Need to Know
Key Takeaways Crypto tracing is now a foundational requirement for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) compliance, moving far beyond its origins as a reactive law-enforcement forensics tool. Regulatory pressure driven by global Travel Rule standards and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing regimes has shifted blockchain tracing from optional tech to a mandatory […]
What Is Phishing in Crypto? Managing the #1 Human-Layer Risk
Key Takeaways Crypto phishing now ranks as the single most costly threat category in the digital asset industry, surpassing traditional smart contract code exploits. Private key compromises, phishing, and targeted social engineering account for nearly half of all realized crypto losses since 2022. Attack patterns have shifted from mass spam emails to sophisticated, AI-assisted campaigns […]
What Is AML Compliance in Crypto? Why It’s Essential for Businesses
Key Takeaways A working AML program is what banks, institutional investors, and institutional trading desks check first, before product traction or market share ever come up. For a small business, having KYC and KYT working together instead of being stitched together from separate vendors is often the difference between passing that check and stalling out […]
What Is the Travel Rule? A Complete Guide for Crypto VASPs
Key Takeaways The Travel Rule requires crypto businesses, officially designated as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), to attach verified sender and receiver identity data to every qualifying transaction, matching the compliance standards already enforced on traditional wire transfers. If you run a crypto exchange, wallet service, OTC desk, or payment platform, this rule applies directly […]
Beyond the Enforcement Gap: What Crypto Exchanges Must Build Before Regulators Catch Up
The Role of the SEC in Crypto Regulation
Key Takeaways The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the primary US regulator determining whether a crypto asset is a security, governing exchange registration, enforcement, and disclosure. Its March 2026 interpretive release, issued jointly with the CFTC, introduced a five-part token taxonomy that most exchanges now default to. What you list determines how you […]
The Dual-Track Bottleneck: Why Institutional Crypto Is Waiting on More Than a Single Bill
By David Kermaani, Director of Sales, Americas at ChainUp Key Takeaways Regulatory paralysis, not technology, is the primary barrier keeping risk-averse institutional allocators from deploying capital at scale into digital assets. Institutions are not waiting on the CLARITY Act alone. They need both the securities framework (CLARITY Act) and the commodities framework (Digital Commodity […]
