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CES 2022: KyrptoGO building zero trust network for virtual currency industry

Ambrose Huang, Taipei; Kevin Cheng, DIGITIMES Asia 0

KryptoGO Wallet. Credit: KryptoGO

Virtual currency has been a topic of interest in the financial technology (FinTech) world. Since the industry is still in its embryonic stage, there is a lot of space for improvement when it comes to transaction monitoring mechanisms. KryptoGO, a regulatory technology (RegTech) startup established in 2019, has served as a due diligence engine that helps financial institutions detect high money laundering risks, and it is planning to construct a zero trust network for the virtual currency industry.

Building zero trust transaction mechanisms with KYABC search engine

In its beginning stage of development, KryptoGO broke into the FinTech market with its KYABC (Know Your Address-Business-Customer) due diligence engine, with the goal of speeding up the traditional KYC (Know Your Customer) verification process. Compared to the traditional client verification, KYABC reduces the labor cost for financial institutions by 83.2% with high accuracy and is sometimes referred to as the "Google for money laundering prevention."

KryptoGO founder and CEO Kordan Ou said his company has been trying to solve trust issues between financial institutions and their clients. While the company is conducting due diligence checks, its ultimate goal is actually to create a zero trust transaction world in which buyers and sellers can exchange goods and services without establishing a trusting relationship first, he explained.

KryptoGO founder and CEO Kordan Ou. Credit: DIGITIMES

KryptoGO founder and CEO Kordan Ou
Photo: DIGITIMES

Integrating virtual currency wallet with KYABC to strengthen financial security

Ou said that the purpose of due diligence checks is to identify the likelihood of an individual to engage in money laundering, but that transaction information cannot be easily accessed in a virtual currency setting. To overcome such challenge, KryptoGO introduced the KryptoGO Wallet, a decentralized finance wallet that allows a more thorough due diligence check, in 2019. The launch of the wallet helped KryptoGo successfully transition from a business-to-business (B2B) company to a business-to-consumer (B2C) company.

The KryptoGO Wallet enables users to manage assets from multiple chains in one place and provides clear details of their transactions and virtual assets. It also has a chatroom function that allows buyers and sellers to learn more about each other before deciding to make a transaction.

Ou pointed out that the main disadvantage of virtual currency is a lack of comprehensive regulations and that this provides opportunities for illegal transactions and money laundering. Although implementing a real-name registration system will likely prevent illegal activities, it is not very practical, he said. He said the integration of KYABC and KryptoGO Wallet can improve financial security to a large extent and ensure secure asset management for individuals and businesses.

KryptoGO launched KryptoGO Wallet in 2021 to make cryptocurrency ecosystem more transparent. Credit: KryptoGO

KryptoGO Wallet was launched in 2021 to make cryptocurrency ecosystem more transparent
Photo: Company

Aspiring to become a decentralized joint credit information center

KrytoGO hopes to use CES 2022 as a platform to extend its global reach in countries with relatively complete virtual currency regulations, such as the US. The company has developed its own AI technology to assist in the automation of regulatory processes, and it uses a better Mandarin word and context interpretation technology than most of its competitors. Singapore, Malaysia and Japan are some potential markets for the company.

In December 2021, KrytoGO was recognized with ISO27001 and ISO27701 certificates for meeting the international information security and privacy standards. The certifications will no doubt help the company expand its presence in the virtual currency market. In addition, two members on the KrytoGO team are certified anti-money laundering specialists and have won five awards at the Taiwan RegTech Challenge organized by Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission in 2020.

Since virtual currency is still in its infancy, few countries have established tax policies and monitoring mechanisms related to the industry, said Ou. He stressed that the importance of KrytoGO is clear in the current virtual currency ecosystem and that the company is aspiring to become a decentralized joint credit information center in the future.

The KryptoGO team.  Credit: KryptoGO

The KryptoGO team
Photo: Company