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Money laundering with cryptocurrency: open doors and the regulatory dialectic

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  • Daniel Dupuis
  • Kimberly Gleason

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to describe the opportunities and limitations of cryptocurrencies as a tool for money laundering through six currently available “open doors” (exchange mechanisms). The authors link the regulatory dialectic paradigm to know your customer and anti-money laundering evasion techniques, highlight six tactics to launder funds with virtual assets and investigate potential law enforcement and regulatory alternates used to reduce the incidence of money laundering with digital coins. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology used is the analysis of significant recent events and the availability of “fintech” crime-fighting tools and a literature review focusing on the application of the regulatory dialectic to innovations in existing crypto-asset markets that make them compelling to money launderers. Findings - The authors examine the illicit use of cryptocurrency through Kane’s regulatory dialectic paradigm, identify a number of avenues for crypto to fiat exchange that are still available for those seeking to launder money using digital coins, review recently “closed doors” and make recommendations regarding the regulation of crypto-related markets that may assist in making them less desirable for potential criminals. Research limitations/implications - The research is constrained by the state of the market for crypto to fiat exchange as of time of writing; the technology and products to launder money using these open doors is continually changing (as predicted by the regulatory dialectic). Social implications - The regulatory dialectic predicts that regulatory response is reactive and often increasingly burdensome or oppressive. There is continuous innovation in the cryptocurrency market, which seeks to preserve privacy and anonymity with which regulators seek to keep up. From a social perspective, the response of bank regulators worldwide to existing open doors for crypto to fiat exchange used for money laundering may prove costly to individuals engaging in legitimate transactions, as well as financial criminals and may also erode the ability of individuals to maintain privacy regarding their financial information. Originality/value - To the authors’ knowledge, there are yet no broad overview regarding the feasibility of money laundering across crypto-related assets within the paradigm of the regulatory dialectic.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Dupuis & Kimberly Gleason, 2020. "Money laundering with cryptocurrency: open doors and the regulatory dialectic," Journal of Financial Crime, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 60-74, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jfcpps:jfc-06-2020-0113
    DOI: 10.1108/JFC-06-2020-0113
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kane, Edward J, 1977. "Good Intentions and Unintended Evil: The Case against Selective Credit Allocation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 9(1), pages 55-69, February.
    2. Acharya, Viral V. & Schnabl, Philipp & Suarez, Gustavo, 2013. "Securitization without risk transfer," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(3), pages 515-536.
    3. Kane, Edward J, 1988. "Interaction of Financial and Regulatory Innovation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 328-334, May.
    4. Milind Tiwari & Adrian Gepp & Kuldeep Kumar, 2020. "A review of money laundering literature: the state of research in key areas," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(2), pages 271-303, March.
    5. Matthias Thiemann, 2014. "In the Shadow of Basel: How Competitive Politics Bred the Crisis," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(6), pages 1203-1239, December.
    6. Sean Foley & Jonathan R Karlsen & Tālis J Putniņš, 2019. "Sex, Drugs, and Bitcoin: How Much Illegal Activity Is Financed through Cryptocurrencies?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1798-1853.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nasir Sultan & Norazida Mohamed & Mervyn Martin & Hafizah Mohd Latif, 2023. "Virtual currencies and money laundering: existing and prospects for jurisdictions that comprehensively prohibited virtual currencies like Pakistan," Journal of Money Laundering Control, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(2), pages 395-412, May.
    2. Vladlena Benson & Bogdan Adamyk & Anitha Chinnaswamy & Oksana Adamyk, 2024. "Harmonising cryptocurrency regulation in Europe: opportunities for preventing illicit transactions," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 37-61, April.
    3. Jin, Sheng, 2024. "The paradigm logic of blockchain governance," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Fatih Ecer & Tolga Murat & Hasan Dinçer & Serhat Yüksel, 2024. "A fuzzy BWM and MARCOS integrated framework with Heronian function for evaluating cryptocurrency exchanges: a case study of Türkiye," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 10(1), pages 1-29, December.
    5. Ivan Sergio & Jan Wedemeier, 2025. "Global surge: exploring cryptocurrency adoption with evidence from spatial models," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Al-Omoush, Khaled Saleh & Gomez-Olmedo, Ana M. & Funes, Andrés Gómez, 2024. "Why do people choose to continue using cryptocurrencies?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    7. Sood, Kirti & Singh, Simarjeet & Behl, Abhishek & Sindhwani, Rahul & Kaur, Sandeepa & Pereira, Vijay, 2023. "Identification and prioritization of the risks in the mass adoption of artificial intelligence-driven stable coins: The quest for optimal resource utilization," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Reganti Lavanya & Rajesh Mamilla, 2023. "Bibliometric Characteristics of Cryptocurrency through Citation Network Analysis," Advances in Decision Sciences, Asia University, Taiwan, vol. 27(2), pages 46-74, June.

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