Yirifi

What is crypto compliance?

Crypto compliance is the practice of meeting anti-money-laundering (AML), counter-terrorist-financing (CFT), sanctions, and consumer-protection obligations when dealing with digital assets. It covers customer due diligence, wallet screening, transaction monitoring, sanctions checks, suspicious activity reporting, and jurisdiction-specific rules such as MiCA in the EU or the Travel Rule under FATF Recommendation 16.

What are the main crypto regulations to know in 2026?

The most referenced regimes are the EU's MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) for issuers and service providers, the FATF Travel Rule adopted globally, the US BSA/FinCEN MSB rules, Singapore's PSA under MAS, the UAE VARA framework, Hong Kong's SFC licensing regime, and the UK's FCA crypto financial-promotions rules. Yirifi's Regulatory Database tracks 2,232+ regulations across 150+ jurisdictions and 1,200+ regulatory bodies.

What is the crypto Travel Rule?

The Travel Rule requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to share originator and beneficiary information for crypto transfers above a jurisdictional threshold (typically USD/EUR 1,000). It originated from FATF Recommendation 16 and has been adopted in the EU (via MiCA/TFR), Singapore, Switzerland, the US, and most major jurisdictions. Compliance teams must verify counterparty VASPs, transmit required data securely, and screen sanctions and PEP lists.

What is AML screening for crypto wallets?

AML screening for wallets combines on-chain analytics with off-chain intelligence to score a wallet address for exposure to sanctioned entities, darknet markets, mixers, ransomware, and fraud. A risk engine traces fund flows across hops, attributes clusters to known entities, and returns a risk score plus evidence. Institutions typically screen at onboarding, before outbound transfers, and continuously for held positions.

What is MiCA and who does it apply to?

MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is the EU's unified crypto regulation effective from December 2024, with full application through 2025. It covers issuers of asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, and Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) offering custody, trading, exchange, portfolio management, or advice. Obligations include authorisation, governance, prudential requirements, market-abuse rules, whitepaper disclosures, and consumer protection.

What is a wallet risk score?

A wallet risk score is a numerical assessment of how likely a blockchain address is to be linked to illicit activity. It is derived from on-chain heuristics (clustering, path tracing, counterparty exposure) and off-chain intelligence (sanctions lists, law-enforcement data, known exchange attributions). Scores typically map to tiers like Low, Medium, High, and Prohibited, driving decisions on onboarding, enhanced due diligence, or rejection.