Treasury Warns Cryptocurrency Mixers On Money Laundering Concerns

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Senior Treasury Department officials are warning cryptocurrency trading platforms on the dangers of currency "mixing" as a means of money laundering.

Elizabeth Rosenberg, the Treasury assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said in a speech Friday that "the challenge is that while these services often operate as money transmitters and thus have regulatory reporting obligations, they may deliberately operate in a noncompliant manner to make it more difficult for regulators and law enforcement to trace illicit funds,"

Taylor English attorney Bryan Jacoutot and I discussed this same concern in our podcast on FinCEN Report recently. Jacoutot's white paper on cryptocurrencies highlights the regulatory challenges involved. FinCEN regulates money transmitting businesses under its authority through the Bank Secrecy Act.