Catenaa, Monday, March 09, 2026- The Financial Action Task Force said stablecoins now account for most illicit cryptocurrency activity, citing growing use in sanctions evasion and money laundering, and urged tighter oversight of issuers.
In a 42-page report released Tuesday, the Paris-based watchdog said dollar-pegged tokens are increasingly linked to fraud, scams and cross-border payments tied to sanctioned actors, including networks associated with Iran and North Korea.
The FATF estimated about $51 billion in illicit stablecoin activity related to fraud and scams in 2024. It cited data from Chainalysis showing stablecoins represented 84% of $154 billion in illicit virtual asset transaction volume in 2025.
A separate study by TRM Labs found illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins in 2025, the highest level in five years.
The report said sanctions-related activity made up 86% of illicit crypto flows, with most actors relying on stablecoin platforms.
The FATF warned peer-to-peer transfers through unhosted wallets remain a key vulnerability because they can bypass anti-money laundering controls.
The watchdog stopped short of calling for blanket blacklisting but urged governments to impose anti-money laundering obligations on stablecoin issuers. It also recommended considering tools such as wallet freezing and restricting certain smart contract functions.
With stablecoins exceeding $300 billion in market value and monthly transaction volumes surpassing $1 trillion at times last year, the FATF said regulators must close compliance gaps as adoption accelerates.
