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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) stated in a report released on Tuesday that if identifiable individuals retain "control or sufficient influence" in DeFi arrangements, its rules apply, regardless of how decentralized the project claims to be.FATF noted that many DeFi projects still frequently exhibit centralized elements in practice, including the concentration of governance tokens, management authority, upgrade control, and fees and rewards flowing to insiders. The report categorizes DeFi into three types: those with identifiable controllers, those that are actually centralized but where operators are hidden, and those that are truly leaderless, with only the last category not subject to its standards.The report stated that nearly 93% of jurisdictions responding to the survey have not applied the relevant standards to any qualifying DeFi arrangements, with only 26 out of 142 jurisdictions having assessed risks, 4 having established licensing rules, and only 2 having registered or licensed relevant platforms. FATF requires countries to mandate or encourage DeFi projects to embed anti-money laundering controls into smart contracts or interfaces; for platforms that refuse to cooperate, jurisdictions may prohibit them from operating locally as a last resort. The report also stated that the total value locked in DeFi reached $86.6 billion this year, an increase of approximately 85% compared to 2023.

According to the latest report released by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), FATF conducted the seventh special assessment of the implementation of Recommendation 15 (R.15) across global jurisdictions. The report indicates that since the last update in 2025, countries have continued to advance in the regulation of virtual assets (VA) and virtual asset service providers (VASP), including conducting risk assessments, improving licensing and registration frameworks, implementing travel rules, and strengthening law enforcement actions.However, the report also points out that significant gaps still exist, mainly reflected in: the difficulty in effectively translating risk assessment results into mitigation measures, insufficient implementation of licensing and registration frameworks, challenges in identifying VASP activity subjects, and inadequate effectiveness of risk-based supervision and law enforcement. In terms of emerging risks, the report focuses on the following areas: the exacerbation of the "industrialization" trend of organized crime groups using virtual assets to commit fraud, the rising risk of stablecoin abuse, risks associated with non-custodial wallet peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, offshore VASPs operating outside of regulation, and ongoing challenges in the DeFi sector. FATF calls for the public and private sectors to jointly strengthen the implementation of R.15, enhance risk mitigation capabilities, and deepen domestic, international, and public-private cooperation mechanisms.

The FATF released a report stating that criminals are increasingly using stablecoins for illegal financial activities, calling on countries to accelerate the implementation of cryptocurrency anti-money laundering standards.

According to Bitcoin.com, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) recently released a new version of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulatory guidelines, requiring cryptocurrency businesses operating in Dubai to incorporate real-time data on high-risk and blacklist countries from the FATF into their risk scoring models, replacing the previous static compliance tracking mechanism.The new regulations require businesses to update their risk assessments at least every three months, and any significant changes in operational structure or product lines must be updated immediately; at the same time, the risks of diffusion financing and targeted financial sanctions must be assessed separately and not be merged with general anti-money laundering compliance; in addition, businesses must formally document the risks associated with AI-assisted operations and anonymous-enhanced exchanges.VARA stated that compliance officers, senior management, and board members must take full responsibility for the company's residual risk ratings, and the regulatory focus has shifted from post-event penalties to proactive systemic risk management.

Dragonfly Capital partner Haseeb tweeted that despite recent issues such as bad debts with AAVE, he remains optimistic about the long-term development of DeFi.Haseeb pointed out that the DeFi industry learns and progresses through repeated failures. Whether it was the collapse of Terra, the failed auction on Black Friday in 2020, or the stETH de-pegging incident in 2022, DeFi has repeatedly faced setbacks, but it becomes stronger after each failure. This is no different from TradFi—traditional finance has also experienced multiple failures, such as the 2008 banking crisis, the lending crisis, and the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.The core of DeFi is risk aversion and resilience. Even with some bad debts like those of AAVE, the protocol has enough equity to cover the losses, and these failures are not fatal. He emphasized that DeFi will not disappear, and the intense discussions around how to improve DeFi are part of its ongoing progress. He is bullish on DeFi and on this community.

According to Cointelegraph, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering regulatory body, has released a new report indicating that offshore virtual asset service providers (oVASP) pose risks of money laundering, sanctions evasion, and other illegal financial activities.The report points out that some offshore cryptocurrency companies exploit differences in regulatory and supervisory coverage, making it difficult for authorities to effectively monitor transactions and enforce anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing regulations. As many offshore crypto businesses operate across multiple jurisdictions, such as differing locations for company registration, infrastructure, and customers, regulators find it challenging to clarify regulatory responsibilities, which also limits international cooperation.FATF recommends that countries require offshore companies providing services to register or obtain licenses, even if they operate abroad, and strengthen cross-border regulatory and law enforcement cooperation. Additionally, FATF has previously warned that peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions and non-custodial wallets may undermine AML regulation, necessitating national-level risk assessments and the establishment of protective mechanisms.

Culper Research stated on X that they are shorting ETH and related stocks (such as BMNR), citing: "The tokenomics of ETH has been damaged after the Fusaka upgrade in December 2025. Vitalik himself knows this and is selling ETH, while one of ETH's most steadfast bulls, Tom Lee, continues to double down, essentially pouring good money into a bad project."In response to the institution's statement, Vitalik's father, Dmitry Buterin (dima.eth), replied: "Once you see the phrase 'Vitalik knows this and is selling,' you don't need to read further. They are attention-seeking clowns, not researchers."

The global anti-money laundering organization Financial Action Task Force (FATF) pointed out in its latest report that stablecoin peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers have become a key source of money laundering risk in the crypto ecosystem, especially when users trade directly through unmanaged wallets, making it more difficult to track and regulate related activities due to the lack of regulated intermediaries.FATF stated that stablecoins have now become the most commonly used virtual assets in illegal crypto transactions. According to Chainalysis data, approximately 84% of the $154 billion in illegal crypto transactions in 2025 involved stablecoins. The report recommends that jurisdictions require stablecoin issuers to have the technical capability to freeze, destroy, or blacklist assets involving suspicious addresses when necessary, and to embed compliance features such as allow-lists and deny-lists in smart contracts.FATF noted that compared to the highly volatile Bitcoin and Ethereum, stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are increasingly being used by criminal networks for fund transfers and money laundering activities due to their price stability, high liquidity, and ease of cross-border transfer. Additionally, the report mentioned that North Korean hacker groups and entities linked to Iran are using stablecoins to launder proceeds from cybercrime and are converting funds into fiat currency through over-the-counter traders or peer-to-peer platforms.FATF calls for strengthened regulation of stablecoin issuers and encourages the broader adoption of blockchain analysis tools and anti-money laundering measures such as the "travel rule" within the crypto industry.

According to Cointelegraph, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering regulatory body, pointed out in its latest report that peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transfers via self-custody wallets have become a critical vulnerability in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, as they can bypass anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.The FATF emphasized that such transactions can be completed without going through regulated intermediaries, creating a regulatory gap. The report indicates that by 2025, stablecoins will account for 84% of the total volume of illegal transactions, becoming a primary tool for evading sanctions and other illicit activities. Although blockchain transactions are traceable, the anonymity of wallet addresses increases the difficulty of attribution. The FATF calls on countries to assess the risks posed by stablecoin arrangements and to take commensurate mitigation measures, including enhancing monitoring when self-custody wallets interact with regulated platforms, as well as clarifying the AML obligations of stablecoin issuers and distributors.

German payment processor DECTA expects that with the full implementation of the European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in 2026, the euro-pegged stablecoin market will reach a critical turning point.MiCA will establish a unified framework for reserves, regulation, and operational standards, which is expected to promote the use of euro stablecoins in payment systems, trading platforms, and tokenized financial infrastructure. Market growth will depend on the speed at which MiCA-authorized issuers establish distribution channels and bank connections, as well as the level of adoption by institutions and consumers.

According to Cryptopolitan, the head of Belarus's main auditing agency stated that in preparation for the evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF, equivalent to the regional anti-money laundering organization EAG), the authorities have established and are updating a dedicated registry for recording the cryptocurrency wallets of criminals.The official also noted that Belarus has passed regulations regarding the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions, as well as other measures to ensure transparency in the digital asset sector.