Education
What is AML in crypto?
A complete guide to Anti-Money Laundering in cryptocurrency — why it matters, how it works, and what you need to know.
What is AML?
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to a set of laws, regulations, and procedures intended to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income. In the context of cryptocurrency, AML means verifying that digital assets are not connected to illegal activities — including fraud, ransomware, darknet markets, sanctions violations, or mixing services.
Unlike traditional finance where banks can freeze accounts, crypto transactions are irreversible. Once you receive tainted funds, they're in your wallet — and your wallet is now linked to those funds on a public ledger. AML checks before a transaction are your only protection.
Why AML matters in crypto
Chainalysis estimates $24.2B in crypto was sent to illicit addresses in 2023 alone. The risk is not hypothetical.
FATF, the EU, the US, and 200+ countries have AML regulations that now explicitly cover crypto assets.
Receiving tainted crypto — even unknowingly — can expose individuals and businesses to legal and financial liability.
Banks increasingly close accounts of businesses that can't prove their crypto funds are clean. AML checks are now essential.
Hear it from the experts
Conference talks and explainers on crypto AML from leading organizations.
An explainer on how criminals use cryptocurrency to launder money and what regulators are doing about it.
The Financial Action Task Force explains how its recommendations apply to virtual asset service providers.
The scale of the problem
AML glossary
Anti-Money Laundering — a set of laws and procedures designed to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income.
Know Your Customer — the process of verifying the identity of clients. Required by most regulated crypto platforms.
Know Your Transaction — transaction-level AML monitoring, as opposed to identity-based KYC. This is what Review Trust provides.
Financial Action Task Force — the global AML/CFT standards-setting body whose recommendations are adopted by 200+ jurisdictions.
FATF Recommendation 16 — requires crypto service providers to share sender/receiver information on transfers above a threshold.
A 0–100% score indicating the probability that a wallet or transaction is connected to illicit activity, based on analysis of its full history.
Services that obscure the origin of crypto by pooling and shuffling funds. Use of mixers is a major risk indicator.
An online marketplace operating on the Tor network that typically facilitates illegal goods and services. Wallets connected to these are high risk.
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Full risk report in under 2 minutes. 0.5 TRX.