Exchange / custodian / VASP software, built around FinCEN, NMLS and KYC/AML onboarding + ongoing KYT screening

Arkathos gives a exchange a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around operating a regulated exchange/custodian — AML/Travel-Rule compliance, customer support, and proof-of-reserves over custodied assets. Arkathos tailors a exchange workspace around 5 agents: Watchtower, Guardhouse, vault-keeper, Treasury, Herald.

Compliance a exchange can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a exchange, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A exchange must maintain a Business entity formation, through the Secretary of State, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A exchange must maintain a State Money Transmitter License (MTL), through the State banking / financial-services regulators (applied and renewed via NMLS), which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a FinCEN MSB registration, through the FinCEN, which renews every two years.
• A exchange must maintain a New York BitLicense (Virtual Currency Business Activity License), through the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A exchange must maintain a California DFAL Digital Financial Asset Business License, through the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a State Money Transmitter License (per operating state), through the State Dept of Financial Institutions, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a FinCEN Money Services Business (MSB) Registration (Form 107), through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Department of the Treasury, which renews every two years.
• A exchange must maintain a NY BitLicense (virtual-currency business activity), through the NYDFS, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Money Transmitter Surety Bond, through the Licensed surety company (bond amount set by each state regulator; filed via NMLS ESB), which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a SOC 2 Type II attestation, through the Independent Auditor (AICPA), which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a ACAMS CAMS certification (BSA/AML officer), through the ACAMS, which renews every 3 years.
• A exchange must maintain a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), through the ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists), which renews every 3 years.
• The ACAMS CAMS certification (BSA/AML officer) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (60h Anti-money laundering / financial crime).
• The Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (12h ACAMS-accredited AML training (minimum), 48h AML / financial crime continuing education (general)).
• A exchange must maintain a SOC 2 Type II Report, through the AICPA framework, attested by an independent licensed CPA firm, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Surety bond (money transmitter), through the Surety / Insurance Provider, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Crime / fidelity bond, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Crime / Fidelity Bond (custody protection), through the Commercial surety / insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Specie / custody (cold-storage) insurance, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a General Liability Insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Cyber Liability Insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Professional liability / E&O insurance, which renews every year.
• A exchange must maintain a Workers' Compensation Insurance, through the State-regulated workers' compensation carrier, which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a exchange

These are the agents set up first for a exchange — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Sentinel, Quartermaster, Scribe, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Watchtower — License & permit tracking, Certification & continuing-education (CE) tracking, Renewal reminders & alerts, Compliance document vault.
• Guardhouse — Support ticketing, Knowledge base & FAQs, Canned replies & auto-resolve, Customer satisfaction tracking.
• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored exchange workspace

These are net-new, exchange-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• KYC/AML onboarding + ongoing KYT screening (Watchtower): Customer identity verification, OFAC/sanctions + PEP screening, wallet-address risk scoring (KYT), and ongoing transaction monitoring with auto-escalation to a review case.
• Travel Rule message exchange (Watchtower): Originator/beneficiary VASP data exchange for transfers at/above threshold (FATF Travel Rule), a counterparty-VASP directory/handshake, and a record of sent/received Travel-Rule messages per transfer.
• Proof-of-reserves attestation (Vault Keeper): Merkle-tree liability proof + on-chain reserve verification, a reserves-vs-liabilities ratio dashboard, and an exportable third-party attestation report that customers can independently verify.
• SAR/CTR filing + monetary-instrument log (Watchtower): Generate FinCEN SAR + CTR (>$10k) filings, maintain the $3k–$10k monetary-instrument log, and run suspicious-activity cases from alert → investigation → filing with retention.
• Tiered withdrawal-approval + hot/cold workflow (Vault Keeper): Risk-tiered manual approval for large withdrawals, hot/cold wallet rebalancing thresholds, multi-sig signer routing, and automatic holds on anomalous withdrawal patterns.

The agents and tabs you get

Watchtower for a exchange surfaces Overview, Compliance items, Calendar, Policies, Chat. Guardhouse for a exchange surfaces Overview, Tickets, Pending approvals, Knowledge base, Canned, Chat. Treasury for a exchange surfaces Financial sheet, Transactions, Filings, Integrations, Chat. Herald for a exchange surfaces Compose, Schedule, Mentions, Get found, Chat, ✦Studio, Brand voice.

Frequently asked questions

best software for a crypto exchange / VASP compliance

Core stack: blockchain analytics (Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM Labs), KYC/AML (Sumsub, iDenfy), and Travel Rule tools (Notabene). Arkathos runs the corporate back-office side — bookkeeping, CRM, payroll, compliance records — under flat pricing.

do i need a money transmitter license to run a crypto exchange

Usually yes. In the US, register with FinCEN as an MSB and obtain a state money transmitter license in each state you serve. Wyoming is a notable exception; rules vary by state.

how much does it cost to start a crypto exchange

White-label platforms start around $8k-$50k; enterprise builds exceed $250k. Add licensing (roughly €15k-60k+), capital requirements (~€12k-125k), plus ongoing liquidity, compliance, and hosting. Totals vary widely by jurisdiction and features.

how does the crypto travel rule work for vasps

For transfers above a threshold, the sending VASP collects and securely shares originator/beneficiary details with the receiving VASP off-chain, screening both against sanctions lists before completing the transfer. Tools like Notabene and Sumsub automate this.

crypto custody software cold storage vs mpc wallet

Cold storage keeps keys fully offline; MPC splits keys into shares so no single party holds a complete key. Institutions tier both — roughly 90% cold, small hot balances. Providers: Fireblocks, BitGo, Copper, Cobo.

how do crypto exchanges prove proof of reserves

They publish proof of assets (signed on-chain wallet balances) plus proof of liabilities via a Merkle tree of customer balances, letting users verify inclusion. Some use zk-SNARKs for privacy. Kraken and Binance publish PoR.

how much does kyc/aml software cost for a crypto exchange

Most providers use usage-based, pay-per-verification pricing with volume discounts rather than flat fees; add-ons for AML screening, KYB, and ongoing monitoring cost extra. Published flat rates are rare — request a volume quote.

best crypto accounting and reconciliation software for exchanges

Crypto-native back-office tools like Cryptio, Bitwave, Cryptoworth, and Lukka handle on-chain reconciliation and audit-readiness. For the operating company's own books, payroll, and invoicing, Arkathos covers it with flat, no-per-seat pricing.

crypto transaction monitoring and sanctions screening software

Real-time tools screen wallets and addresses against OFAC and watchlists and monitor deposits/withdrawals — Chainalysis KYT, TRM Labs, Elliptic, Scorechain, Crystal. They flag high-risk counterparties and generate alerts plus audit-ready evidence.

What licenses and insurance does a exchange need?

Arkathos tracks 23 items for a exchange, including Business entity formation, State Money Transmitter License (MTL), FinCEN MSB registration, New York BitLicense (Virtual Currency Business Activity License). Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a exchange?

The ACAMS CAMS certification (BSA/AML officer) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (60h Anti-money laundering / financial crime). The Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (12h ACAMS-accredited AML training (minimum), 48h AML / financial crime continuing education (general)). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a exchange get?

Arkathos tailors a exchange workspace around 5 agents: Watchtower, Guardhouse, vault-keeper, Treasury, Herald.

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