The Financial Action Task Force urged countries to speed up enforcement of crypto anti-money laundering standards, citing growing illicit finance using stablecoins. It said most on-chain criminal activity identified in its latest annual review involved dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. FATF warned criminal networks increasingly use stablecoins to avoid asset freezes and seizures, with some developing their own stablecoins. It noted more jurisdictions have adopted the travel rule but many lag in supervision and enforcement.

U.S. banking groups have urged regulators to clearly extend anti-money laundering rules for stablecoins beyond issuance to secondary market trading. The crypto industry has pushed back, warning that imposing responsibility for transactions issuers cannot control could shrink the DeFi ecosystem. The debate centres on who should monitor transfers after issuance, including movements between exchanges, DeFi protocols and private wallets, and how far regulatory responsibility should reach.