AML, KYC, 2FA, FAQ & QRcode – what do they mean?

Welcome to Crypto Jargon – these are a series of 30 videos I launched recently on my YouTube channel and I am now adding them here to my blog.

In these series, I’m breaking down the complex terminology related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech, as well as trading slang – all of which you will inevitably come across in your research in the crypto universe, be it on Twitter, mainstream media articles, blogs, forums and all other social media as well.

There’s a lot of great content in these series and each episode is packed with value and I’m sure you will learn a lot, so let’s get started.

Below is my first episode with the following terms: AML KYC 2FA FAQ and QRcode.

Let’s first start with AML.

This is the acronym for Anti-Money Laundering, which is a process that all financial institutions are required to follow in order to prevent, detect and report suspected money laundering activities. Money Laundering is a broad term related to acquiring capital illegally or moving illicit funds. Some examples are tax evasion, public corruption, and market manipulation through methods such as inside trading or wash trading. Wash Trading is explained in another episode, so make sure you check out the rest of the Crypto Jargon series on this channel.

Another popular acronym you will see on many websites as you open new accounts is KYC.

This stands for “Know Your Customer”. There are a number of laws and regulations worldwide, which require businesses to know the identity of their customers, so it is a typical requirement for most exchanges, wallets, and ICOs these days. Usually, you will need to send your personal details like an ID scan, proof of address – which can be a bank statement or utility bill and in some cases even a selfie, to prove that you are the same person as the ID you provided.

Moving on to 2FA which means Two Factor Authentication.

This is an additional layer of security requiring a code to verify that the owner of an account is the one accessing it. This is a method of securing online accounts through multiple authentication rounds. This makes it difficult for hackers to breach your account. Even if they’re able to crack your password, they won’t be able to log in without access to your second factor. Most commonly the second factor is a code generated from your phone and the most popular apps for that are Authy, Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator. Email verification and text messages are also used for 2FA but they are considered too weak.

The next acronym is FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions.

I know, you probably already knew that, but just in case you didn’t FAQ is the most useful section of a website to any new customer. You can find the most common questions answered there and most likely you will find it on the top or the bottom of any good company’s homepage.

Last in this post is QR CODE, which stands for Quick Response Code. This is similar to a barcode but it is square in shape and can hold more information than a regular barcode. It is widely used in crypto – associated with pretty much any crypto wallet addy and especially for mobile wallets. What is a wallet or addy? This is the topic of the next episode so make sure you follow the Crypto Jargon series on my channel. Subscribe and hit the notification bell so that you can get notified when the next episode is out.

These and many more terms are explained in my eBook “Crypto Jargon A-Z: definitions of crypto terminology” which is the most up-to-date publication of its kind. With over 700 terms, acronyms and trading slang, it contains everything related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech: a must-have guide for every crypto investor. It’s an Amazon bestseller and it’s available from my website here.