Cryptocurrency and Money Laundering

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies improved the efficiency of traditional financial transactions, decentralized them, and increased access to finance. However, these developments exacerbate their vulnerabilities by making it simpler for criminals and money launderers to evade money laundering laws. This could also imply that criminals exploited a potential gap in existing law and regulation frameworks between jurisdictions, or that they used cryptocurrencies as de facto forms to better conceal illicit sources, making evasion easier through detection across a border or nation. The paper discusses further the involvement of cryptocurrencies in remodeling methodologies related to money laundering by showing their employment at every placement, layering, and integration phase. Furthermore, it has endeavored to address the issues that regulators confront in combating money laundering and similar unlawful acts by exploring mitigation techniques from an international collaborative and technologically creative standpoint. This study aims to provide insight into how digital cryptocurrencies are linked to financial crimes in the ever-changing environment of hazards and legal requirements that accompany their growth and adoption.