Participate
If you’re looking to participate in development or simply want to engage with the community, you can join the telegram channel and check out our Github repository.
Design Principles
In designing the OpenVASP protocol, we are guided by the following seven principles.
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1. Travel Rule Compliance
Establish a shared communication protocol for VASPs to exchange virtual asset transfer information as specified in the FATF requirements.
This principle includes:
a) a common transfer data standard for required originator and beneficiary information;
b) a suitable set of rules to facilitate the data exchange between VASPs.
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2. Decentralized Approach
Pursue a decentralized approach that enables any two VASPs to use the protocol without consent or even knowledge of any third party.
This principle includes:
a) does not require a VASP to obtain any form of membership or registration with any third party;
b) does not require the usage of a central component at any time;
c) assumes that each VASP has a non-delegable obligation to carefully select other VASPs it wants to work with, following a risk-based approach.
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3. Technology Agnostic
Make sure the protocol works with any blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) used for the underlying virtual asset transfer.
This principle includes:
a) requires no changes to the underlying blockchain / DLT;
b) does not assume specific characteristics of the underlying blockchain / DLT (e.g. the existence of a unique identifier or comment field in transactions).
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4. Privacy by Design
Make sure the protocol puts privacy of transferred data at the center of its design.
This principle includes:
a) requires robust authentication of the VASPs involved;
b) requires robust end-to-end encryption between VASPs;
c) applies perfect forward secrecy (protecting data transferred in the past against future compromises of the private keys);
d) allows for two VASPs to transfer data without the knowledge of any third party.
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5. Broad Applicability
Ensure that the protocol facilitates all applicable usage scenarios where VASPs need to exchange transfer data.
This principle includes:
a) supports VASPs exchanging data as part of a one-off virtual asset transfer;
b) supports VASPs exchanging data for a high number of routine transactions;
c) supports situations where the beneficiary VASP is not known to the sending VASP or where there is uncertainty whether a target address is controlled by a VASP;
d) supports situations where virtual asset transfers between VASPs are initiated or facilitated by smart contracts.
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6. Extensibility
Ensure that the protocol allows for custom extensions.
This principle includes:
a) allows for VASPs to add custom data;
b) while doing so, has rules that prevent any weakening of the common core.
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7. Efficient to Use
Ensure minimal cost for VASPs to deploy and maintain the protocol’s implementation.ravel Rule Compliance.
This principle includes:
a) supports straight-through processing capabilities;
b) supports implementations where a single server instance can process virtual asset transfers in all blockchains / DLTs used by the VASP.
Whitepaper
Read the OpenVASP white paper, which serves as a starting point for our work.
Published November, 2019 – 700kb
Funding Members
Contributors
FAQ
Below are answers to regularly asked questions. If you still can’t find an answer to your question, either join the telegram channel or engage with the community on GitHub.
Q. Do you provide a software?
OpenVASP is first of all a common protocol, open for different implementations. Both open-source initiatives as well as commercial software providers are welcome to provide their solutions.
Q. Is the white paper the final standard?
No. The white paper serves as a starting point, hopefully helping the VASP community to speed things up.
