Tbilisi (GBC) - One trader has left the crypto market. Sheri (full name "Sher888") has been suspended.
Sheri (commercial name "Sheriff Crypto Exchange") is the first and only VASP_ to be fined and suspended, after less than 2 years of operation.
Sheri was fined 465,000 by the National Bank of Georgia for several violations, including not monitoring the client's income, not determining the purpose of transactions, and not verifying the origin of the virtual asset of the virtual asset service provider (VASP).
The majority of crypto traders choose an exchange platform. Although there are offices, Sheri belonged to this category and, accordingly, served clients at the office (Pekini Ave., Tbilisi) with a cash desk.
Digital wallets, also known as VASPs, perform purchase and sale transactions through an operational, so-called hot wallet. There is also a cold, so-called Ledger, which is referred to in fintech circles as a simple wallet. It is digital, but less modernized. Certain procedures are performed manually and selected by a part of the clients who think that it is safer and feels more protected than the latest versions.
The regulator imposes the same requirements on cash-based providers, VASPs are required to have software mechanisms for client verification and crypto wallet screening.
The Ashkashidzes (founders of Sheriff) are working on converting several digital currencies, including Ethereum and Bitcoin, mainly the digital dollar USDT, into GEL and USD (and vice versa).
Currently, 40 Wasp exchanges are registered with the National Bank of Georgia. The latest license was obtained by Vnisi Digital Assets.