DeFi KYC: Not an issue as ‘99% have nothing to hide,’ industry execs say

cointelegraph.com:

DeFi execs at a WOW Summit panel argued that implementing “Know Your Customer” (KYC) measures will tackle the “biggest issue” in decentralized finance (DeFi), which is hackers laundering millions of stolen funds into “clean money.”

During a panel session at the World of Web3 Summit (WOW) in Hong Kong on March 29, titled ‘Blockchain Security to Smart Compliance: AML & KYC Solutions in DeFi,’ industry leaders endorsed KYC in DeFi as a solution to tackle Anti-Money Laundering (AML) issues.

Dyma Budorin, CEO of smart contract auditing firm Hacken, warned of the prevalence of tools readily available to hackers to “launder the money” stolen from DeFi platforms, which he described as the “biggest issue” in the industry.

He explained that hackers can easily steal millions of dollars and launder the funds into various wallets – “to make clean money again” – making it difficult to track the source of the funds.

However, Victor Yim, the Head of Fintech at Hong Kong’s incubator for entrepreneurship, Cyberport, suggested that KYC alone won’t solve all AML problems.

Yim explained that even in traditional finance, where KYC measures are prominent, “there is still money laundering happening every day.”

Blockchain Security to Smart Compliance : #AML & #KYC for #DeFi Path to compliance is : Now is the best time to prove that Defi can be secure and compliant @jessecogo from @Cointelegraph @buda_kyiv @tyyim Alexander Scheer @WOWsummitWorld pic.twitter.com/Lk5mnhMKDS

However he believes KYC measures will make a “better tomorrow” for the DeFi industry, noting that it will require a collective effort – including “regulators, policy, bureau and other players” – to execute successfully.

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