Balance Introduces Balance Compliance for Canadian MSBs Dealing in Virtual Currency

Balance, Canada’s largest digital asset custodian, today unveiled Balance Compliance, a turnkey solution that streamlines regulatory compliance for FINTRAC reporting entities dealing in virtual currency such as money services businesses (MSBs). Balance Compliance is the result of over 18 months of work and enables Balance Custody clients which are FINTRAC reporting entities to perform the following on the platform:

• Designate default originators (i.e., conductors) and beneficiaries on digital wallets as well as external accounts to streamline compliance workflows;
• Submit instructing third-party information on large deposits and automatically submit Large Virtual Currency Transaction Reports (LVCTRs);
• Comply with sanctions policies through our integration with Chainalysis, a leading blockchain data platform;
• Comply with Travel Rule requirements through our integration with Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST), a leading industry solution;
• Export Large Virtual Currency Transaction (LVCT) records and records of virtual currency transfers equivalent to $1,000 or more in a standardized format.

“The regulatory burden for Canadian companies entering the space in 2022 is non-trivial. Depending on the business model, you might be looking at $100k+ in costs for just developing the LVCTR reporting system alone. For early-stage startups these costs tend to be prohibitive, creating a barrier to entry and slowing down innovation. We’re happy to provide a solution where submitting LVCTRs is as easy as delegating Balance as your service provider in FINTRAC Web Reporting,” said Nuno Silva, Chief Product Officer.

“Given FINTRAC’s recent retraction of its position with respect to merchant servicing and payment processing, certain virtual currency payment providers and crowdfunding platforms now need to register as MSBs. For a large majority of them, this new compliance overhead translates into negative unit economics. That doesn’t have to be the case. At scale, these costs blend in for us. Come leverage our platform for compliance peace of mind and focus on the core and spirit of your business instead,” said George Bordianu, Chief Executive Officer.