Quote from: subwoofer12 on October 01, 2018, 12:19:24 AM

I'm an American that owns an offshore company located in Chile. I plan on opening a cryptocurrency exchange, but wouldn't have any American customers, I'd also block all US IPs as a precautionary matter. A friend of mine has told me repeatedly that I need to comply with the requirements of FATCA. This can't be correct, is it?

It sounds like you don't have an attorney to research and advise on compliance matters. Seriously, retain a competent law firm before opening a cryptocurrency exchange. You might just dodge a prison sentence.

Chile signed an intergovernmental agreement with the US regarding the implementation of FATCA in 2014, so you're officially on the hook for FATCA compliance if you fall under the definition of a "non-US ('foreign') financial institution (FFI)."

Quote from: subwoofer12 on October 01, 2018, 12:19:24 AM

The way I understand this law, international businesses only need to comply if they have American customers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act#Provisions

The point of FATCA is to force foreign banks and other financial institutions to search their records for customers with any indication of 'US-person' status and report them to the US government. In other words, it goes beyond a simple requirement to prohibit US customers.

Bitfinex banned US users from its platform, but still mandates tax information for FATCA compliance.