Andrew Aleksandrov

DAC8 is no longer a future compliance project. The first EU crypto reporting period began on 1 January 2026, and the technical plumbing arrived just before it: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2263, published in the Official Journal on 26 November 2025, set the standard forms and computerized formats for

Crypto scam losses reached an estimated $12 billion in 2024, and in 2025 that number climbed past $14 billion on-chain. The trend heading into 2026 is clear: crypto fraud is growing faster than the crypto market itself. While scammers often tailor their approach to older adults and people with

The modern crypto ecosystem spans hundreds of blockchains operating in parallel. Fund flows rarely remain within a single network: assets move between chains through bridges, decentralized exchanges, and wrapped token systems. Each transfer across a network boundary breaks transaction continuity. A movement that starts as ETH on Ethereum may appear

Travel Rule violations are the most commonly cited infraction under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) — the primary US Anti-Money Laundering Law — identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during examinations of Money Services Businesses (MSBs) engaged in convertible virtual currency transmission. (Source: Kenneth A. Blanco, FinCEN Director, Blockchain Symposium,

INTRO A blockchain ledger records every transaction, but it never tells you who is behind an address. It shows that 0x7a3f… sent 14.2 ETH to 0xb8c1…, yet reveals nothing about whether those strings belong to an individual, an exchange, or a sanctioned mixer. Multiply this by the billion-plus

When you look up a wallet on a block explorer, you can see individual transactions — amounts, addresses, timestamps. But that's not the same as understanding where money actually came from or where it ended up. Transaction tracing goes further. It reconstructs the full movement of funds across multiple

The Crypto Travel Rule is no longer a distant regulatory concept. In an increasing number of jurisdictions, it is an enforceable obligation, and virtual asset service providers are expected to demonstrate compliance in practice, not merely in policy documents. Yet the gap between regulatory intent and day-to-day operations

The financial regulatory landscape of the European Union has undergone a transformation with the introduction of the new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) package, specifically targeting the sector of digital assets. Central to this transformation is the implementation of the EU Crypto Travel Rule, codified under Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, also

Summary: The EU's Anti-Money Laundering Regulation has entered into force, but its obligations for obliged entities generally apply from 10 July 2027. In September 2026, EU crypto businesses remain subject to the existing AML framework alongside MiCA and the already applicable Transfer of Funds Regulation, while AMLA

Summary: A UK crypto business in late 2026 is subject to two regulatory timelines at once. Today, FCA registration under the Money Laundering Regulations remains the operative requirement for in-scope cryptoasset firms, alongside the Travel Rule (in force since 1 September 2023), the financial promotions regime (since 8 October

Put three KYC provider websites side by side and the feature lists look almost identical: document verification, biometrics, sanctions screening, global coverage, API, AI-powered fraud detection. Run the same 1,000 customers through all three and the results will not be. Completion rates differ, as do legitimate-user rejections,

Summary: "MiCA license" is the market term. The legal concept is authorization as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. The EU-wide transitional period ended on 1 July 2026, so legacy national VASP status no longer provides a basis for continuing MiCA-regulated services.

TL;DR: U.S. crypto regulation is still split between federal and state authorities, and no single agency resolves a business's full compliance scope. But the picture has changed materially. FinCEN and the Bank Secrecy Act still supply the core AML framework for businesses that qualify as money

Japan's crypto Travel Rule does not apply to every outbound transfer. It applies to transfers going to service providers in a specific list of jurisdictions that Japan has assessed as having equivalent rules — 58 of them, plus five more added with effect from 3 August 2026: Anguilla, Botswana,

In 2026, crypto compliance is no longer a question of whether obligations apply — it is a question of which set of obligations applies to your business, where, and when. Crypto businesses now operate inside a network of concrete, dated requirements: FATF standards and the Travel Rule globally, the final MiCA

Can stolen cryptocurrency be recovered? Occasionally. Blockchain transactions cannot simply be reversed. Recovery usually depends on where the funds move next. If they reach an exchange, custodian, stablecoin issuer, or another identifiable service, there may be a party capable of freezing or preserving the assets. If they stay in self-