Globally compliant decentralized capital market AllianceBlock and identity data intelligence specialist GBG have announced a strategic agreement, which seeks to facilitate KYC in decentralized finance (DeFi).

According to the announcement, the identity verification solutions of GBG will be integrated into AllianceBlock’s decentralized protocol. Initially, GBG will create signed, anonymous, and reusable verification reports.

AllianceBlock will then store these reports on-chain. The company will also offer these reports to clients and network participants. It will do this via its Trustless Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) and identity verification product.

One-time KYC

The companies highlighted a specific use case for this innovation. For example, blockchain users would only have to undergo KYC verification once. Thereafter, they would be able to demonstrate their KYC compliance with other service providers, without having to share personal information.

Customers outside of blockchain and cryptocurrencies could also use the solution in more traditional instances when KYC is required.

Matthijs de Vries, CTO and co-founder of AllianceBlock, emphasized the convenience this solution poses for users. They would no longer “have to go through the same KYC check for each institution, creating a larger data footprint which must be managed in a compliant manner with legislation like GDPR,” he said.

He hopes that by leveraging GBG’s identity data intelligence software, the AllianceBlock Trustless KYC/AML and Identity Verification product “will be used by both traditional legacy institutions and DeFi firms as a more efficient alternative to current KYC processes”.

Integrating DeFi

A stated goal of AllianceBlock is to further integrate the worlds of traditional finance and DeFi. “As we know, at present, the two still exist in silo to a large extent and we want to change that,” said CEO and co-founder of AllianceBlock Rachid Ajaja.

AllianceBlock is uniquely positioned to be able to carry out this lofty ambition. Besides leading software and blockchain developers, the company also consists of former investment bankers. These include former employees from the likes of JPMorgan, Barclays, BNP Paribas, and Goldman Sachs.