In preparing the report, the agency reviewed more than 220 public comments from representatives of the crypto industry. The document notes that citizens can legally use crypto mixers to protect their financial privacy on public blockchains — for example, by concealing information about personal funds, commercial payments, or charitable donations.
The report distinguishes between custodial and non-custodial cryptocurrency mixing services. Custodial mixers must register with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as financial service providers and provide customer and transaction data upon request from law enforcement or regulators. The report does not propose additional restrictions for non-custodial mixers.
At the same time, the Treasury emphasized that crypto mixers still pose risks to financial security, as stolen funds can be laundered through them. According to the agency, from January 2024 to September 2025, North Korean hackers stole digital assets worth at least $2.8 billion. This amount includes the hack of the Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, during which approximately $1.5 billion was stolen.
The Treasury called on Congress to consider a bill allowing financial institutions to temporarily freeze suspicious digital assets during investigations. Additionally, lawmakers are advised to determine which participants in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector should be subject to anti-money laundering and terrorism financing requirements.
The agency also pointed out the risks associated with the use of crypto ATMs. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), such devices are increasingly being used by scammers to pressure victims. Criminals convince people to transfer savings through crypto ATMs, taking advantage of the lack of adequate oversight from regulators.
According to FBI data, in 2024, the agency received over 10,900 complaints from victims of fraudsters who transferred approximately $246.7 million through crypto ATMs. The Treasury noted that scammers often present themselves as brokers or government officials and persuade citizens to deposit money through crypto ATMs, only to then convert it into cryptocurrency and send it to addresses controlled by criminals. Elderly people are often the victims of such schemes, as this age group is particularly vulnerable to psychological pressure.
In addition to crypto ATMs, criminals actively use other digital tools for money laundering - in particular, decentralized finance protocols and cross-chain bridges, which allow them to hide transaction traces by moving stolen assets between various blockchains. According to the Ministry of Finance, since May 2020, over $37.4 billion in the two largest stablecoins - USDT and USDC - has passed through more than 50 crypto bridges. During the same period, about $1.6 billion in funds from crypto mixers flowed into these bridges.
The agency also positively assessed the potential of new technologies - artificial intelligence, blockchain analytics, digital identification systems, and application programming interfaces (APIs). According to the Treasury, such tools can enhance the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
In 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department added the crypto mixer Tornado Cash to the sanctions list. However, three years later, the agency lifted restrictions on interaction with the service. Despite this, a court found one of the developers of Tornado Cash - Roman Storm - guilty of conducting unlicensed money transmission activities.