Ireland’s Government Proposes Crypto Safeguards in Response to Risks

For the first time in seven years, the Irish government released an assessment related to digital assets, noting risks from money laundering, terrorism financing, sanctions violations and bribery.

The government of Ireland is taking aim at digital assets used in money laundering and terrorism financing as moves to implement industry standards “relating to the acceptance of crypto-related activities as a source of funds” by the second half of 2027 as part of its policy priorities.

In part of its implementation plan following a national risk assessment released on Thursday, the Irish department of finance said crypto assets presented “very significant” risks related to money laundering and terrorism financing. The government’s 2026 report was the first time in seven years that Ireland released a risk assessment related to digital assets, noting an increase in prosecutions related to money laundering and incidents of fraud in which using crypto was “particularly attractive” to criminal groups.

Source: Government of Ireland

In the time since its last report, Ireland noted that crypto “presents vulnerabilities that may facilitate sanctions evasion,” presented challenges to the country’s tax compliance and enforcement and was used to bribe corrupt officials responsible for decisions overseeing the industry. The government highlighted vulnerabilities in the sector, including “inconsistent international regulation” posing risks to Irish service providers and largely unregulated areas of the industry such as decentralized finance.

Ireland lacks many of the laws and regulations covering the crypto industry that are common in other jurisdictions like the European Union and United States. That's despite its relatively high crypto ownership rates compared to other areas, with the Central Bank of Ireland reporting in December that about 10% of the population invested in crypto.

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In November 2025, the central bank fined Coinbase Europe Limited about $24 million for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism violations, noting that the company delayed reporting failures in its transaction monitoring system.

The risk assessment noted concerns about crypto being “increasingly used to make payments to corrupt officials,” but even official donations to political groups has been banned in Ireland for more than four years. In April 2022, officials proposed that no Irish political parties be allowed to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, privacy coins and others.

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