Global Crypto Oversight Tightens as FATF Targets Stablecoins and DeFi
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reports that 73% of eligible jurisdictions have now adopted rules aligned with its crypto-focused Travel Rule, which requires platforms to track and share user transaction data.
While only The Bahamas is fully compliant, dozens of countries have moved closer to meeting FATF’s anti-money laundering standards.
Stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi) remain high-risk zones, with FATF citing growing illicit use—especially by North Korean-linked actors.
Despite rising scrutiny, enforcement remains weak: only four jurisdictions have registered DeFi entities, and most haven’t taken supervisory action.
Singapore and Hong Kong are moving quickly to tighten controls. Unlicensed exchanges in Singapore face shutdowns, while Hong Kong has advanced stablecoin legislation. Still, FATF warns that outright bans often fail to reduce crypto activity and instead erode oversight.
New FATF reports on stablecoins, DeFi, and offshore platforms are expected next year, likely shaping the next wave of global crypto regulation.
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
