, an international financial crime monitoring body, issued a call on Thursday for nations to enhance efforts in combating illicit finance within cryptocurrency assets, cautioning that regulatory gaps could have widespread implications.){kind=link}
28th June 2025 – (Paris) The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international financial crime monitoring body, issued a call on Thursday for nations to enhance efforts in combating illicit finance within cryptocurrency assets, cautioning that regulatory gaps could have widespread implications. Based in Paris, the FATF highlighted that while advancements have been achieved in regulating virtual assets since 2024, numerous jurisdictions still need to bolster their measures to address associated risks.
As of April 2025, only 40 out of 138 assessed jurisdictions were deemed “largely compliant” with FATF’s crypto standards, marking an increase from 32 in the previous year. Given the borderless nature of virtual assets, FATF emphasised that regulatory shortcomings in one jurisdiction can reverberate globally, potentially leading to substantial consequences.
According to blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, illicit crypto wallet addresses may have received as much as $51 billion in 2024. FATF noted the persistent challenge faced by countries in identifying the individuals behind virtual asset transactions.
This report underscores the growing apprehension among financial regulatory bodies regarding crypto-related threats to the stability of the financial system. In a recent warning, the EU’s securities watchdog highlighted potential risks to financial stability posed by the expanding crypto sector, particularly as its integration with traditional markets deepens.
Moreover, FATF expressed worries about the application of stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency pegged to fiat currencies, by various illicit entities, including North Korea, terrorist financiers, and drug traffickers. The agency stated that the majority of illicit crypto activities now involve stablecoins.
Meanwhile, the FBI attributed the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in virtual assets from the crypto exchange ByBit in February to North Korea, marking the largest crypto theft to date.