[Digital Today reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] The Irish government is pushing to introduce criteria for accepting the source of funds linked to cryptocurrencies by the second half of 2027 to counter their use in money laundering and terrorist financing.

Cointelegraph reported on June 18 local time that Ireland’s Department of Finance said in a follow-up implementation plan after a national risk assessment that digital assets carry very significant risks in terms of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Ireland, in a digital-asset risk assessment released again after 7 years, pointed to a rise in money laundering-related prosecutions and said criminal groups see cryptocurrency-enabled fraud as an especially attractive tool.

The risks were not limited to money laundering and terrorist financing. The Irish government viewed cryptocurrencies as potentially making sanctions evasion easier and creating difficulties for tax compliance and enforcement. Up

Regulatory gaps were also mentioned. Differences in regulatory levels by country could pose risks to service providers in Ireland, and decentralised finance was generally classified as an unregulated area.