AML crackdown eclipses securities enforcement as crypto’s top regulatory risk: Report
US Anti-Money Laundering fines hit $1.06B in the first half of 2025 as enforcement shifted from securities cases, while Basel rules and mandatory audits reshape crypto compliance, according to CertiK.
Anti-Money Laundering enforcement has overtaken securities violations as the leading regulatory threat facing crypto companies, according to CertiK, with the United States Department of Justice and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network imposing over $1 billion in AML-related fines during the first half of 2025.
The shift marks a sharp break from the US Securities and Exchange Commission-led enforcement cycle that defined earlier years of crypto regulation. SEC crypto-specific penalties collapsed 97% in penalty value year over year, dropping from $4.9 billion in 2024 to $142 million in 2025, according to a Tuesday report by blockchain security auditor CertiK.
Transaction monitoring and licensing failures are now drawing penalties that rival or exceed many earlier crypto securities cases. The DOJ’s February 2025 settlement with OKX reached $504 million, while KuCoin paid $297 million in January 2025, both for operating unlicensed money transmitting businesses and Bank Secrecy Act violations.
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