Implementing the Travel Rule for Crypto on Okcoin
Background:
Formally introduced in 2022, the Travel Rule for crypto is a regulatory requirement by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), created for exchanges to prevent fraud, money laundering, and other illicit activities.
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It requires that crypto exchanges collect, verify, and share certain pieces of information about the sender and receiver of crypto when sent off the exchange, depending on the value of the crypto and location of the sender.
The problem:
The Travel Rule was announced and enforced quickly, leaving many exchanges caught off guard.
With a tight deadline, Okcoin's risk team had to quickly create the appropriate infrastructure and user experience to adhere to the rules or risk facing fines, outside investigations, or even complete closure.
My solution:
Working closely with multiple stakeholders across several departments, I quickly and efficiently:
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Designed
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while consulting the PRD, my product designer partner and I worked to quickly create the screens and content for the Okcoin app in several markets
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Collaborated
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with lots of colleagues, including:
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Product managers to understand the PRD and how the travel rule works in different regions
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Legal stakeholders to fine tune content and make sure it's compliant
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my product designer partner to build out the screens from lofi to hifi for multiple different crypto sending scenarios
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several senior engineers to ensure testing had no issues and all content would be translated properly on the backend
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Shipped
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after just a couple of months - our Travel Rule flow was implemented swiftly thanks to the collaborative efforts of all involved​​
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The work:
Here's the final flow in action featuring me sending some ETH from my Okcoin account to my personal wallet address:
The results:
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Kept the company compliant in the ever-changing crypto regulatory climate, helping them avoid fines, other penalties, and/or possible closure
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98.3% total conversion rate amongst all users since implementation