Assets, Bitcoin

Is Bitcoin a VASP?

A Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) is a business that provides services for the custody and exchange of virtual assets. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, with no central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries.

Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin is unique in that there are a finite number of them: 21 million.

NOTE: This warning note is to inform the public that Bitcoin is not a VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider). Bitcoin is a distributed, decentralized digital currency and payment system, and it does not fall under the definition of a VASP. It does not provide services such as customer due diligence, transaction monitoring or anti-money laundering compliance. Therefore, it should not be treated as a VASP and should not be used for any services that require VASP compliance.

While Bitcoin is often portrayed as an anonymous currency, the reality is that it’s not completely private. Transactions are recorded on a public ledger, which means that anyone can see the addresses involved in a transaction and the amount of bitcoin being sent.

However, the identities of the parties involved are not revealed.

So, is Bitcoin a VASP? While it doesn’t fit perfectly into the definition, it does provide some services that would traditionally be provided by a VASP. It’s decentralized nature makes it unique among other digital currencies, and its pseudonymous nature offers some privacy protections.

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