The California-based company Identitymind, which specializes in anti-fraud and risk management, is now offering Bitcoin startup companies compliance services for a fee.
“Our main goal is to enable startups to launch operations and focus on development as they leave all the regulatory issues to us,” said the product manager of Identitymind, Niel Reiter.
Ignite
Aiming to attract more Bitcoin startups, IdentityMind has announced its Ignite accelerator program - a low cost option for startups that want to access the market faster.
“Two Bitcoin businesses are already signed up for the program,” said Jose Caldera, IdentityMind’s VP of Marketing and Products.
The services provided by the company will cost clients roughly $150 - a monthly fee for half a year.
“The price for the technology is typically several hundred dollars per month to several thousand dollars per month, based on the size and volume of the business,” said Caldera.
The service package also includes anti-fraud monitoring of the first 5000 transactions. This includes transfer of funds from a bank account to an electronic wallet and vice versa as well as e-wallet to e-wallet transactions.
Besides these anti-money laundering services, the Ignite package also includes a compliance service - the “know your client” rule - which enables customers to directly work with banks that accept crypto currency.
How it works
IdentityMind’s technology runs a check on a person creating an account to see whether the user is using stolen information and is not on any blacklists i.e. lists provided by the Office of Foreign Assets Control agency. If any suspicious activity is detected then IdentityMind alerts its client.
"There's an added benefit to garnering data from all our anti-fraud partners," says Caldera. "If a user is associated with fraud within those partners database…of identities and reputation, then we inform our clients."
Neil Reiter adds: “We enable transparency in crypto currency transactions. Banks could always view data on clients requesting a transfer of funds.”
Today, there are many other companies offering similar services. For example, the widely-known organization, BlockScore, conducts an incredibly simple, yet reliable ID-check. However, Reiter clarified what sets their company apart from the competition:
“Identitymind focuses on the same thing as our competitors; however, our offering also includes around 12 additional services.”
To qualify for the Ignite program, startups must be pre-launch or must have launched within the past three months. The startup has three months to opt out of the program for no fee.
Identitymind also confirms that they have partnered with several major virtual currency exchanges since the company was able to reduce risks for banks.
Reaction from the Bitcoin community
Mathew Cunningham: “The problem with this service is that it greatly reduces the anonymity granted to those using Bitcoin at current time while allowing banks the same relative risk profile they always had had for their customers. For a system like this to work, it is essential to provide extra benefit for not only the bank but also the small business aside from just regulatory compliance.”