U.S. Treasury Intensifies Efforts Against Illicit Financial Activities Leveraging Crypto

By: Eva Baxter

The U.S. Treasury Department is planning to concentrate more on managing risks involving cryptocurrencies and other pioneering technologies through comprehensive regulation. This is a key point of focus in its 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing report.

The strategy aims to prevent the misuse of these technologies by illicit elements whilst fostering a secure and transparent financial system. The report also pointed out the evolving threat environment, with cybercriminals increasingly exploiting cryptocurrencies and other digital assets for illicit activities such as money laundering, illegal financing, and cybercrimes.

Among the solutions it presents are enhancing enforcement actions, bolstering international cooperation, mandating anti-money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) programs for investment advisers, and an increase in transparency in non-financed real estate transactions.

It also proposes to enforce comprehensive regulations for digital assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and watch and form adaptive rules for emergent technologies such as decentralized finance (DeFi) to prevent their misuse by bad actors.