BOB Gateway Wallet Screening Explained

Swaps on BOB Gateway are screened by the solver processing them, using third-party blockchain analytics tools to check for sanctions and illicit-activity risk.

Screening is important for the health of the system

We built BOB Gateway so anyone can swap native BTC without an account, without ID checks and without handing custody to an exchange. But at the same time, it’s important that funds linked to hacks, fraud or sanctions are not able to move through BOB Gateway. This helps meet our legal obligations and keep the platform safe.

Wallet screening assesses the risk of an address

The screening process does not need to know who you are. It checks the risk of blockchain addresses using public on-chain data and a variety of screening tools:

• Database matching. Addresses are compared against sanctions lists and watchlists maintained by regulators and law enforcement.
• Exposure analysis. Funds are traced back through past transactions to find links to illicit activity such as hacks, scams, darknet markets, ransomware and sanctioned parties.
• Risk scoring. Each address receives a score based on its own activity, its direct counterparties and its indirect exposure.

Every major exchange and most leading DeFi platforms run this category of check. Unlike KYC, which checks who you are, wallet screening checks only where the funds have been.

Every wallet address is checked

BOB Gateway is a protocol that matches your swap with a solver. The solver is the party that fills your order - it receives your assets and sends you the assets you asked for.

Each solver carries out its own compliance screening. Based on its compliance checks, the solver may be required to stop a swap or hold funds it has received. The Gateway protocol itself does not hold or freeze funds.

Every swap is screened automatically, on every supported chain:

• Addresses connected to a swap are screened, including the sending and receiving addresses.
• Addresses are checked against applicable sanctions lists, such as those of the US, UK, EU, UN, Australia, Canada and Japan.
• They are also checked for links to theft, fraud and other illicit activity.
• Screening completes before the solver releases any funds.
• Solvers review their screening settings regularly to balance risk with access for legitimate users.

Connected-wallet swaps

You connect a wallet and initiate the swap in the app. Screening happens before the transaction is broadcast.

If a check fails, the swap does not go ahead, no assets leave your wallet and no fee is charged.

QR code / walletless swaps

You scan a QR code and send assets from any wallet, exchange or hardware device. Your sending address is only known once the funds arrive, so screening happens after the deposit confirms. If the swap is flagged, the solver is obligated to hold the funds while the case is reviewed. This means:

• Where possible, flagged swaps are reviewed manually to help catch errors.
• Depending what the screening process reveals, the matter may need to be reported to the relevant authorities.
• The solver is legally not permitted to share the reason funds have been held.
• In some cases, funds can only be released with the consent of an authority or a court.
• You may be asked for information, including ID or a liveness check, to complete the review.

To have your swap screened before any funds leave your wallet, use a connected wallet.

We know how this reads if it happens to you, and we are sorry it is not something we can discuss case by case. These obligations are set out in clause 2.6 of our Terms of Service. If you believe an error has been made, the best route is to contact legal@gobob.xyz.

Most leading protocols and platforms use wallet screening

Screening is standard practice in crypto, similar to sanctions checks in traditional finance. It helps businesses like BOB Gateway solvers manage compliance risk and meet their legal obligations.

The vast majority of leading exchanges, DeFi protocols, bridges and swaps engines run something similar. Compliance holds are how every serious venue, both in crypto and in traditional finance, meets the same obligations.

For BOB Gateway, it does one more thing: it lets you swap without needing an account or ID.