Cryptocurrency companies are tightening compliance standards. The pace at which this change is occurring would have seemed extreme just a few years ago. The Chainalysis report notes that nearly half of all cryptocurrency companies onboarding in 2026 are already using monitoring settings that would have ranked among the strictest in the industry in 2020.
Compliance is often something that exchanges and cryptocurrency platforms deal with when hacks or enforcement actions occur against them. As of now, it looks like it’s part of day one.
Crypto AML standards are rising, and blind spots remain
According to Chainalysis, about 47% of new cryptocurrency companies this year meet or exceed what could be called the “gold standard.” Back in 2020 and 2021, only about 10% of companies were operating at this level. This number rose significantly after 2023. At that time, some more stringent monitoring standards emerged that began to set industry standards.
The cryptocurrency market has spent the past few years trying to clean up its image after repeating itself Scandals. The pressures involved in hacks, sanctions violations, and even stock market crashes seem to be how companies view risk.
At the same time, monitoring of indirect exposure remains a major weakness. On the flip side, direct inspections are becoming more stringent throughout the industry. In this screening, funds are directly linked to sanctioned wallets or known illicit actors. But if funds are moved through different wallets, the monitoring standards seem more flexible.
the a report He highlighted that traditional banks entering the cryptocurrency space still implement stricter controls than local cryptocurrency companies. She added that banks indicate such measures when transaction levels reach around $150. However, exchanges tend to allow limits closer to $950. The gap may be smaller, but it still exists.
Much of this comes from traditional financing rules, he said. It has already forced banks to adopt stricter anti-money laundering systems years before cryptocurrency companies. Experts point out that the industry is improving, but structural blind spots still exist.
MiCA pushes Europe forward in cryptocurrency compliance race
The Basel Institute for Governance had previously raised warnings. Tracking funds through multi-hop transaction chains reportedly remains difficult even with the most advanced blockchain analysis tools.
The Financial Action Task Force has argued that fixed liquidation systems are not sufficient for cryptocurrency-related compliance. Regulators want companies to use heightened monitoring systems that can adjust risk scores in real time.
The Chainalysis report estimates that North Korea-linked cyber groups were responsible for nearly $2 billion in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2025. However, TRM Labs notes that illicit cryptocurrency volumes jumped 145% year over year to about $158 billion.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa reached the top of the list in monitoring indirect exposure. On the other hand, Asia-Pacific markets remain mixed and lenient. Europe has already rolled out markets in regulating crypto assets (Mika). It is aggressively pushing companies towards more stringent standards.
