Ireland Flags Crypto Money-Laundering Risks, Plans Source-of-Funds Rules by 2027

Ireland plans to tighten regulation of cryptocurrencies to address the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Cointelegraph reported on June 18 that Ireland’s Department of Finance published a follow-up implementation plan to its National Risk Assessment. The department said it will establish acceptance standards for the source of funds tied to crypto assets by the second half of 2027.

In the report, the Irish government said crypto assets pose “very significant risks” in money laundering and terrorist financing. It marked the first national risk assessment on digital assets since 2019.

The report said money-laundering prosecutions have increased in recent years and that crypto assets are being used by criminal groups as a “particularly attractive” tool for fraud. The government identified that as one of the main risks facing the industry.

The government also said crypto assets have vulnerabilities that can help evade international sanctions. It said they create challenges for tax enforcement and regulatory oversight and are also being used in some cases to bribe corrupt public officials.

The report said some areas of the market, including decentralized finance, are effectively outside the regulatory perimeter. Differences in regulatory standards across countries were also cited as a factor increasing risks for crypto-asset service providers in Ireland.

Although Ireland is a member of the European Union, its domestic framework for directly regulating the crypto industry remains relatively limited compared with that of the US and other major economies. Still, the Central Bank of Ireland said about 10% of the population had invested in crypto assets as of December 2025.

Ireland has also maintained a strict stance on the use of crypto in politics. In 2022, the government moved to ban political parties from accepting donations in Bitcoin, Ether and privacy coins.

In November 2025, the Central Bank of Ireland fined Coinbase Europe Limited, the European unit of the US crypto exchange Coinbase, about $24 million for violating anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules. At the time, authorities said flaws in its transaction-monitoring system had not been reported in a timely manner.