Blockbid Partners with LexisNexis to Enhance Exchange Security

Risk management giant LexisNexis joined hands with Melbourne-based cryptocurrency exchange Blockbid to enhance the latter’s security measures. With this partnership, Blockbid became one of the first crypto exchanges to voluntarily impose global anti-money laundering measures.

The deal was inked after LexisNexis’ acquisition of the security technology firm ThreatMetrix for 817 million in February. This equipped the security giant with two databases – one is it’s existing one and another with 1.4 billion unique identities obtained from ThreatMetrix.

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Blockbid has taken this step in response to the increased security-related concerns in the crypto industry and illegal activities like money laundering, terrorism financing, and human trafficking. The exchange has termed this revamped fraud prevention and know your customer (KYC) measures as “Trade with Confidence.” The exchange is planning to use both LexisNexis’s databases to identify risky customers.

“…we are helping Blockbid identify and stop bad actors, we also are reducing friction for legitimate consumers so that they can transact easily and be active in the cryptocurrency space,” said Thomas C. Brown, senior vice president, U.S. commercial markets and global market development, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Implementing similar controls that the biggest banks in the world use adds credibility to cryptocurrency exchanges from a regulator point of view and instils [sic] consumer confidence. Ultimately these safeguards provide a solid foundation on which Blockbid and other companies can grow, profitably.”

Advanced technology

Tracking the user activity in the crypto ecosystem is not easy especially with privacy coins like Monero and Zcash. However, ThreatMetrix is claiming that its digital identity network uses the location of customer devices and behavioral information. It, thus, will only allow permitted users to access their account.

Alisdair Faulkner, Chief Product Officer, ThreatMetrix, a LexisNexis Risk Solutions Company, said: “Cryptocurrency exchanges, like Blockbid, that are prioritising security on their marketplace, face a complex set of challenges and cyberthreats. The best way to tackle global cybercrime is using the power of a global shared network. The ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network collects and processes global shared intelligence from millions of daily consumer interactions including logins, payments, and new account applications. Suspicious behavior can be detected and flagged for review, step-up authentication or rejection before a transaction is processed, creating a low-friction experience for trusted users.”

Blockbid is one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia to obtain AUSTRAC’s license. Within the next six to 12 months, Blockbid is planning to introduce trading options against at least seven fiat currencies. However, in the initial phase, only four fiats – USD, AUD, JPY, and EUR – will be available.

“The alliance with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and ThreatMetrix accelerates the Blockbid strategy to offer its customers the world’s most secure cryptocurrency exchange on which to transact. The technology, KYC processing, and fraud prevention that they provide will enhance the user experience, empowering our customers to trade with confidence and not worry about fraudulent behavior. We look forward to opening our doors worldwide to all traders and investors who want to use a platform that is legitimate and provides asset insurance, as well. This step signals the intention of our company to set the pace and raise the bar for what it means to be a secure cryptocurrency exchange,” Blockbid’s COO, David Sapper, said.