OKX AML Travel Rule

A 0-to-1 project to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activities by ensuring greater transparency of cryptoassets transfers.

What is travel rule and what we aim to do?

The Crypto Travel Rule mandates that any transaction exceeding a specified threshold must include the customer's personal information. Additionally, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) are required to screen the counterparty customer for sanctions and conduct due diligence on the counterparty.

From a design perspective, we are to design the checkpoints for travel rule when user do withdraws or deposits in order to met the regulatory requirements. From a design perspective, our challenge is to reduce the user friction of this journey while trying to fulfil regulatory requirements, means users don’t want it, but we should mandate this journey.

It is also our duty to explain the importance of educating crypto users about the rule and its implications + what users will need to do in order to pass.

Understanding the flow, after discussion with PMs and devs

We cannot change compliance’s rules, but we can decide how to represent it

Designed for various user scenarios via feasibility tech checks

Entities and VASPs may have varying thresholds for triggering the Travel Rule.

  1. Different jurisdictions may require varying types of personally identifiable information (PII).

  2. Entities may prefer specific vendors, while counterparties may use different ones.

  3. Alignment is needed between OKX systems and various vendor solutions due to differing solutions

Sometimes, we intentionally create some design friction

In this scenario, user need to select a wallet to integrate for wallet verification. Added some friction here because we want user to select on a wallet type and then tap the CTA “Go to app”. This way we can manage user’s expectation must better and reduce journeys where user’s did not expect it.

Every app flow is accompanied by web flow

The design flows are maintained as close as possible for app and web. Wallet integration on web is slightly different, in which it will trigger the plugin extension, for example metamask, for verification.

Designed our internal system as well.

Worldcheck Ops Interface

Display all relevant information from Worldcheck to enable agent to review all at once

  • Build proper functionality on BOSS to allow agents to resolve alerts based on specific alert types (e.g., True PEP, True LE).

  • Ensure that true matches, false matches, and possible matches are categorized and recorded accurately for each alert type.

  • Enable auditors to easily extract and analyze data through standardized reporting.

Success of AML Travel rule

Undisrupted withdrawal completion rates

  • % successful withdrawal verification completed upon triggering Travel Rule

  • Withdrawal rate conversion %

  • 79.3% in Q4 2023 to 71.2% in Q1 2024

Country coverages

With the successful implementation of Travel Rule, it contributed to the licensing readiness of the following Key Markets [ 0 to 6 ]

1. OKX Dubai - August 2023
2. OKX Bahamas - November 2023
3.. OKX Singapore - December 2023
4. OKX EEA - Netherlands - December 2024
5. OKX Hong Kong - January 2024

Travel Rule rejection rate of less than 10%

Overall Withdrawal Success Rate - Industry Benchmark%: 75% - OKX Range: 80% - 85% - Competitive Lead: 10%

Next steps