As cryptocurrency’s market cap surpasses the $2.5 trillion mark and continues to climb,1 global regulators have turned their attention to understanding and addressing the risks surrounding digital assets.2
In recent years, digital assets have slowly but surely gained legitimacy as institutional investors have begun to diversify with crypto-related investment opportunities. Market luminaries, such as Steve Cohen, have vocally supported the growth of digital assets.3 But as the popularity and public adoption of digital assets have grown, concerns from regulators about the threat of money laundering have increased in urgency.4 Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company, reported a sharp decline in the percentage of crypto-related criminal transactions, with illicit activity making up only 0.34% of the total transaction volume in 2020 (compared to 2.1% in 2019).5 While this decline in the rate of criminal transactions is promising,…
