FATF Releases Seventh Virtual Asset Compliance Assessment, Highlights Monitoring Gaps

According to FATF's latest report, the Financial Action Task Force completed its seventh assessment of Recommendation 15 (R.15) implementation across global jurisdictions. Since the 2025 update, countries have advanced virtual asset (VA) and virtual asset service provider (VASP) regulation through risk assessments, licensing frameworks, travel rule compliance, and enforcement actions.

The report identified significant gaps: difficulty converting risk assessments into mitigation measures, inconsistent licensing execution, challenges identifying VASP entities, and insufficient risk-based supervision. Emerging concerns include organized crime groups conducting asset fraud at scale, rising stablecoin abuse, peer-to-peer non-custodial wallet risks, unregulated offshore VASPs, and ongoing DeFi challenges. FATF called for strengthened public-private coordination to enhance R.15 implementation and risk mitigation.