Bitstamp Enlists Onfido to Improve New Customer Onboarding

Bitstamp stands out for maintaining open registration throughout this period. The exchange has handled more than 100,000 signup requests per day since December, a testament to its operational resilience. Operating as the largest platform by volume in Europe with approximately three million active users, Bitstamp pushed through 1,000 percent growth in trading activity throughout 2017. Management has met the challenge head-on, expanding headcount fourfold to manage the influx.

Machine learning sits at the core of Onfido's solution. CEO Nejc Kodrič shared in a statement: "Onfido's powerful machine-learning technology has allowed us to automate our new customer identity verification process, and still maintain our high standards when it comes to KYC [Know Your Customer]. We're already seeing positive results when it comes to speeding up our verification process." The automation preserves compliance rigor while eliminating processing delays.

Government action worldwide signals shifting sentiment toward digital currencies. The United States and Japan have mandated Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering compliance at all exchanges. The United Kingdom and South Korea are drafting legislation to monitor Initial Coin Offerings. Such oversight creates opportunities for verification specialists. Onfido CEO Husayn Kassai observed: "We are quickly becoming the go-to provider for KYC in this space, and are helping make it more secure. We now work with 15 cryptocurrency companies, allowing them to scale customer onboarding smoothly, and be more vigilant as the digital currency industry faces more scrutiny and regulation."

Regulatory frameworks, while controversial among decentralization advocates, carry profound implications for crypto's trajectory. Compliance requirements underscore that digital assets are transitioning from speculative experiment to institutional-grade investment category. Integrating KYC standards counters the outdated perception that cryptography exists primarily to facilitate illicit finance. For mainstream investors long deterred by association with criminal activity, such guardrails provide assurance necessary to commit capital.