The Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology | Circle Blog

Introducing the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (“TRUST”)

Introducing the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (“TRUST”)

Company Updates Circle APIs

Circle is proud to announce the launch of the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST), an industry-driven solution designed to comply with a requirement known as the Travel Rule while protecting the security and privacy of our customers. TRUST is a platform that allows cryptocurrency exchanges to securely send information legally required by the Travel Rule. The solution is named TRUST because that’s what we seek to instill in our customers when they use our products and services.

The current U.S. TRUST membership includes the following: Anchorage, Avanti, Bitgo, bitFlyer, Bittrex, BlockFi, Circle, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital AssetsSM, Gemini, Kraken, Paxos, Robinhood, Standard Custody & Trust, Symbridge, Tradestation, Zero Hash, and Zodia Custody. And we are soon expanding to other global jurisdictions

Why is TRUST necessary?

The Travel Rule requires financial institutions to share certain basic information about their customers when sending funds over a certain amount to another financial institution. Custodial cryptocurrency exchanges (like other financial institutions) have to satisfy this rule, which was written before crypto even existed. To do this, a leading group of crypto exchanges came together to create a solution in the crypto space, while continuing to protect the security and privacy of our customers’ personal information. This unprecedented effort led to a jointly designed solution, TRUST, which we hope will soon become the industry standard for complying with these requirements.  

What was the goal in designing the TRUST solution, and how was it achieved?  

The core goal in designing TRUST was to achieve top-tier compliance with the Travel Rule, while fully honoring customers’ expectations over how their information is handled. To do this, important safeguards were incorporated as part of the TRUST solution:

1. No central store of personal data: We never centrally store sensitive customer information where it could be targeted by an attacker or misused by a third-party. The required information is only directly sent from one TRUST member to another, through end-to-end encrypted channels, and the receiver is required to safeguard it.

2. Proof of address ownership: TRUST includes a mechanism for the receiving exchange to prove that it’s the owner of the receiving crypto address before customer information is sent–to ensure that the right information is sent to the right exchange.

3. Core security & privacy standards: We require all TRUST members to meet core anti-money laundering, security and privacy requirements before joining the solution. And we are partnering with Exiger, a global market leader in technology-enabled compliance and risk management solutions, to help us meet that bar, and to provide ongoing compliance support.

Now that TRUST has launched, what are the next steps? 

The next step is adding new members, so that TRUST can provide comprehensive compliance across the crypto industry. The Travel Rule's reach is expanding internationally, and so must the TRUST solution. TRUST is focused on expanding to many other jurisdictions this year.  

The launch of TRUST resoundingly demonstrates that top-tier compliance can go hand-in-hand with a core industry value—robust protection of customer privacy and security. 


To learn more about joining TRUST, click here.

Related blogs

View all
Circle Apply Pay
Circle APIs

Apple Pay is now available on Circle

Abhishek Sandhir | November 15, 2022

Businesses who build with Circle can now accept Apple Pay. See how we’re making crypto commerce easier.

Read story about Apple Pay is now available on Circle

Now Available: Circle’s Postman Workspace

Corey Cooper | August 22, 2022

To enhance the developer experience, Circle released a public Postman workspace to explore and interact with our APIs for Payments, Payouts, and Accounts.

Read story about Now Available: Circle’s Postman Workspace
The Merchant Dashboard is now a part of the Circle Account
Circle Account

Bringing Merchant and Payment Tools to the Circle Account

Team Circle | June 7, 2022

The Circle Account’s new Merchant Dashboard offers new payment tools for transaction monitoring, fraud management and more. Read our blog to learn more!

Read story about Bringing Merchant and Payment Tools to the Circle Account