FATF and Crypto Regulations: What You Need to Know

When you hear FATF, the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body that creates anti-money laundering standards for countries and financial institutions. Also known as the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, it doesn’t issue crypto laws directly—but every major country follows its recommendations when writing their own. That’s why exchanges like Asproex and WenX Pro highlight their FATF compliance—it’s not marketing fluff, it’s a requirement to operate legally in the U.S., Canada, EU, and beyond.

FATF doesn’t care if you use Bitcoin, Ethereum, or a new meme coin. It cares about travel rule, a rule requiring crypto platforms to collect and share sender and receiver info for transactions over $1,000. That’s why exchanges like Eidoo Hybrid and WingRiders built in identity checks and transaction tracking—they’re not being nosy, they’re following FATF Rule 16. Even decentralized platforms aren’t safe from scrutiny. If you’re using a DEX that lets you swap tokens without KYC, you’re operating in a gray zone FATF is actively trying to close.

FATF also targets crypto mixing services, tools designed to obscure the origin of funds, often used by hackers like the Lazarus Group to launder stolen crypto across chains. That’s why platforms like Serenity and MaskEX got flagged—no clear identity, no transaction trail, no compliance. And if you’re holding tokens like BFICGOLD or NFTP with zero trading volume and no team, FATF’s guidelines help regulators label them as high-risk scams.

It’s not just about exchanges. If you’re in the U.S., FATF’s rules are enforced through FinCEN. If you’re in Hong Kong, they’re baked into the Virtual Assets Ordinance. Even China’s crypto ban ties back to FATF’s warning about unregulated digital assets enabling crime. This isn’t about stopping innovation—it’s about stopping criminals from hiding behind blockchain anonymity.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real examples of how FATF’s rules play out: which exchanges made the cut, which airdrops got shut down for lacking compliance, and how hackers are trying to outsmart the system. No theory. No guesswork. Just what’s happening on the ground.