Taiwanese fintech startup XREX collaborates with TRM Labs to ramp up security

XREX Inc., a Taipei-headquartered crypto-fiat exchange and trade technology platform, today announced a partnership with TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence provider, to ramp up its platform’s security and enhance its ability to combat fraud and suspicious activities.

Fast facts

• XREX said in a statement it has put to use the risk management tools developed by TRM Labs, allowing it to conduct real-time cross-chain analysis on crypto transactions on its platform, in a bid to root out illicit actors.

• The company said the new partnership reflects its security commitment, especially when its mission is to level the playing field by using blockchain technology and digital assets to resolve U.S. dollar liquidity shortages faced by cross-border merchants, particularly in emerging markets.

• XREX — which raised US$17 million in its pre-A funding round in August — currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, XRP and BCH.

• “The integration of TRM tools as part of our fraud detection mechanism enables XREX to trace the entire source-to-destination flow of any cryptocurrency transactions on the platform without compromising the data privacy of our users,” Wayne Huang, co-founder and CEO of XREX, said in a statement.

• Crypto-related fraud is a growing problem worldwide. According to the Cryptocurrency Scam Report published by fraud prevention company Bolster, more than 400,000 crypto-related scams were identified globally in 2020, up about 40% from 2019. 

• Taiwan police last month arrested 14 suspects over a US$5.4 million crypto investment scam. Eastern Europe is also emerging as a crypto scamming hub, with a large cryptocurrency market that sees a transaction volume of US$400 million or more. Around 0.5% of this transaction volume or more is linked to illicit activities like darknet markets, terrorism financing, fraudulent shopping sites and ransomware, according to a Chainalysis report.

• Some major players in the industry, such as crypto exchange FTX and blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, have also been hit by crypto misinformation.