Ireland's anti-money laundering strategy: tightening cryptocurrency wallet verification by 2030

Ireland releases its first national anti-money laundering strategy to strengthen private wallet transfers and review of overseas encryption companies

Ireland has launched its first national anti-money laundering strategy, which will last until 2030, including private wallet transfers and overseas encryption companies Implement stricter inspections as the main measure of their digital asset control.

Summary

Ireland's first national anti-money laundering strategy will guide financial crime policy until 2030. Crypto companies must intensify scrutiny of certain transfers involving self-managed wallets. Ireland ended its 12-month MiCA transition period in December 2025. Gaming regulators must establish standards for the source of crypto funds by the second quarter of 2027.

Ireland's Cryptography Strategy strengthens transfer checks

Ireland's Ministry of Finance said on Thursday that the national anti-money laundering strategy will coordinate the country's response to money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing by 2030. For crypto companies, the plan completes Ireland's implementation of the remaining provisions of the EU Funds Transfer Regulations. The measures require crypto asset service providers to strengthen scrutiny of transfers involving self-managed wallets and implement stricter due diligence when working with crypto companies in non-EU areas.

Under the regulation, when regulated providers are involved, originator and beneficiary information of the transfer must be provided with the transaction. The information required can include name, distributed ledger address, encrypted account number and unique transaction identifier.

Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simon Harris launched the strategy on August 13, 2026. Transfers to or from self-escrow addresses are still allowed, but the provider processing the transaction must collect information from both parties. For transfers exceeding € 1000, companies must take steps to assess whether their customers own or control the self-managed address.

The recipient provider must also establish procedures to detect missing or incomplete information. Depending on the level of risk, it can request more details, suspend transfers, return assets, or refuse transactions. These requirements apply to regulated intermediaries and not to the software or hardware used to hold assets. People who control crypto assets through private wallets will not become regulated service providers simply because they hold or transfer tokens.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simon Harris said criminal groups are using new technologies, crypto assets and complex international financial networks to hide illicit profits. "Ireland will not become a safe haven for laundering proceeds of crime," Harris said. He added that the strategy would help protect the national economy and international reputation, while supporting cooperation between regulators, law enforcement and private companies.

MiCA authorization shortens business transition times

Ireland's implementation is advancing in parallel with the Cryptographic Asset Market Regulation (MiCA), which establishes a unified licensing system for cryptographic asset service providers across the EU. Although MiCA allows member states to give previously registered businesses up to 18 months to transition to the new framework, Ireland opted for a 12-month transition period. According to data from the European Securities and Markets Authority, Ireland's transition period ends on December 30, 2025. Therefore, existing companies must obtain full MiCA authorizations or stop providing regulated services in Ireland before the end of the last EU transition period in July 2026. Companies holding a license can use the MiCA authorization issued by any member state to provide covered services within the EU, subject to compliance with the general procedures of the regulation.

MiCA and the Fund Transfer Regulations have their own duties. MiCA controls the authorization, behavior and regulation of crypto companies, while fund transfer rules dictate what information regulated providers must collect and exchange when transferring assets. The government's latest strategy is based on a risk assessment released in June that listed crypto assets as a "very significant" money laundering and terrorist financing risk. The review reportedly cited Irish concerns such as digital asset fraud, related prosecutions, sanctions evasion and unbalanced international regulation. Data from the Irish Central Bank showed that as of December, about 10% of the population had invested in crypto assets. The assessment also examines potential tax evasion and corruption risks, as well as activities carried out through less regulated links in decentralized finance.

Enforcement actions have involved large service providers operating in the country. In November 2025, the Bank of Ireland fined Coinbase Europe approximately 21.5 million euros (approximately US$24 million at the time) for flaws in its trading monitoring system and delayed reporting of these flaws.

Gaming operators will obtain crypto funding sources standards

In a 30-point implementation plan released simultaneously with the June review, another crypto measure was allocated to the Irish Gaming Authority. By the second quarter of 2027, the bureau must develop an industry standard for accepting crypto-related activities as a source of funding. Operators need to establish due diligence procedures to verify whether funds related to digital assets come from legal sources. The measure targets the access of crypto revenue to regulated gaming services, rather than prohibiting gamblers from holding digital assets. The standards it develops will form part of the bureau's review of client funds and financial crime risks.

According to the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, more restrictions will be implemented from July 2027. The law prohibits crypto asset service providers from providing or maintaining anonymous crypto accounts, including accounts designed to further conceal transactions through anonymous enhancers. Self-managed wallets are not prohibited for this account, provided that the hardware or software provider has no access to or control the assets. Regulated companies that interact with such addresses still need to comply with transfer information, ownership assessment and risk management requirements.

The EU Anti-Money Laundering Office in Frankfurt will supervise high-risk financial entities and coordinate with national regulators after the regulation is implemented. National authorities will continue to be responsible for most direct supervision, while EU institutions will support consistent enforcement among member states. In addition, EU policymakers are expected to consider revisions to MiCA in 2027. A recent MiCA review report may cover issues such as foreign stablecoin issuers, tokenized deposits, payment instruments, decentralized finance and cross-border regulation.

U.S. crypto companies face different travel rule thresholds

For U.S. companies that send assets to Ireland or other EU-regulated platforms, information requests from recipients may affect whether transactions are processed. EU rules allow providers to suspend, return or reject transactions if they lack the necessary promoter or beneficiary information. The United States implements its own travel rules under the Bank Secrecy Act. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, covered financial institutions must collect, retain and transmit specified information for fund transfers and remittances exceeding $3000. FinCEN's 2019 guidance states that transfers of convertible virtual currencies may constitute a transfer of funds, and money transmission agencies are required to comply with the rules when thresholds and other regulatory conditions are met. The EU framework stipulates that as long as crypto-asset service providers participate, transfer information requirements must be met, and the 1000 euro threshold will trigger additional ownership or control checks for certain self-managed wallet transfers.

The global standards behind both systems come from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF requires covered virtual asset providers to obtain and transmit originator and beneficiary information, but each jurisdiction implements the recommendation through its own laws. In July, the FATF reported that 132 of the 143 jurisdictions surveyed (nearly 93%) had not yet applied its standards to any eligible DeFi arrangements. The organization stated that DeFi falls within the scope of its virtual asset rules when individuals or legal entities exercise control or sufficient influence through management rights, centralized governance rights, upgrade rights, development control rights, or economic interests.