A recent FBI announcement urging Americans not to use unlicensed money-transmitting services misses “a great deal of nuance” about how crypto services operate, says Piper Alderman Partner Michael Bacina.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s recent warning to Americans from using unregistered cryptocurrency money-transmitting services might be aimed at smart-contract-driven privacy tools, according to a crypto lawyer.
In an April 25 public service announcement, the FBI urged Americans only to use registered Cryptocurrency Money Services Businesses that comply with existing Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws.
In its announcement, the FBI wrote that it had recently conducted law enforcement operations against cryptocurrency services that were not licensed in “accordance with federal law,” adding that anyone using unlicensed services could “encounter financial disruptions” during law enforcement actions, particularly if the money is intermingled with illegally obtained funds.