Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Non-Fungible Tokens
Contents
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a 2024 Non-fungible Token (NFT) Illicit Finance Risk Assessment. The risk assessment explores how vulnerabilities associated with NFTs and NFT platforms may be exploited by illicit actors for money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
The assessment finds that NFTs are highly susceptible to use in fraud and scams and are subject to theft. The report determines that illicit actors can use NFTs to launder proceeds from predicate crimes, often in combination with other methods to obfuscate the illicit source of proceeds of crime. It also found little evidence of the misuse of NFTs by terrorists or proliferators, in contrast to fraudsters, to date.
“This risk assessment demonstrates Treasury’s commitment to analyze illicit finance risks of newer technologies and communicating them to industry and law enforcement,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “I …
The assessment finds that NFTs are highly susceptible to use in fraud and scams and are subject to theft. The report determines that illicit actors can use NFTs to launder proceeds from predicate crimes, often in combination with other methods to obfuscate the illicit source of proceeds of crime. It also found little evidence of the misuse of NFTs by terrorists or proliferators, in contrast to fraudsters, to date.
“This risk assessment demonstrates Treasury’s commitment to analyze illicit finance risks of newer technologies and communicating them to industry and law enforcement,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “I …