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The US Treasury\u2019s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is zeroing in on crypto transaction mixers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Released Thursday, FinCEN\u2019s Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) brands crypto transaction mixing as a \u201cprimary money laundering concern.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proposal would require regulated financial institutions to report transactions when there is reason to suspect involvement in transaction mixing, particularly concerning activities outside the US.<\/p>\n
Mixing is a process that blends different streams of crypto transactions to obscure the original source, thereby making it more difficult to trace individual transactions.<\/p>\n
While the proposed<\/a> rule aims to bolster transparency and curb illicit financial flows, questions remain over its real-world efficacy, particularly given crypto\u2019s inherently decentralized and pseudonymous nature.<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s proposal is part of a broader Treasury<\/a> offensive against mixing services that began in earnest last year.<\/p>\n Blender.io and Tornado Cash<\/a>, platforms both implicated in North Korean money laundering activities by US authorities, have spurred regulatory efforts to curb their use.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Attorneys say DOJ\u2019s Tornado Cash charges contradicted FinCEN guidance<\/a><\/p>\n \u201c[Convertible virtual currency] mixing offers a critical service that allows players in the ransomware ecosystem, rogue state actors and other criminals to fund their unlawful activities and obfuscate the flow of ill-gotten gains,\u201d FinCEN<\/a> Director Andrea Gacki said.<\/p>\n That approach has angered members of the crypto ecosystem<\/a>. Critics say the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control, in its fight to clamp down on illicit proceeds, went a step too far<\/a> \u2014 eventually leading to the arrest of a developer and charges<\/a> against Tornado Cash\u2019s founders.<\/p>\n FinCEN argues its latest proposal aligns with ongoing efforts to counteract a spectrum of threats, from sanctions-dodging countries to groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss the next big story \u2013 join our\u00a0free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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