The Financial Action Task Force, the world's anti-money-laundering standard setter, has promulgated some preliminary rules for the supervision and monitoring of virtual asset services providers in the form of an interpretive note to Recommendation 15.

The FATF amended R15, which deals with new technology, in October and now wants to interpret the new version. The text of the new interpretive note is in its final form, ready for adoption in June, save for paragraph 7(b), which is subject to consultation.

For the purposes of applying the FATF Recommendations, countries should consider virtual assets as “property,” “proceeds,” “funds”, “funds or other assets,” or other “corresponding value”.

According to R15, countries ought to identify and assess the "money laundering or terrorist financing risks" that may arise in relation to (a) the development of new products and new business practices and (b) the use of new or developing technologies for both new and pre-existing products. In the case of financial institutions, such a risk assessment should take place before the launch of each new product or business practice.

Virtual asset service providers should be required to be licensed or registered, especially in the jurisdiction(s) where they are created. In cases where the VASP is an individual, he should be required to be licensed or registered at his place of business.

Paragraph 7, in its present form, applies Recommendations 10 to 21 to VASPs, subject to two qualifications: (a) that the "occasional transactions designated threshold" above which VASPs are required to conduct "customer due diligence" is US$/€1,000, and (b) that countries should force originating VASPs to obtain and hold required and accurate information about 'originators' and 'beneficiaries' regarding virtual asset transfers and make it available to the authorities upon request. Part (b) appears to be controversial.