South Korea pushes Travel Rule expansion for smaller crypto transfers
Summary
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit is urging broader crypto AML reporting to better match FATF standards. It proposed expanding the Travel Rule beyond transfers above 1 million won to smaller transactions and applying it to both sending and receiving crypto service providers to reduce cross-border loopholes. The FIU also called for tougher action against offshore and unregistered platforms, citing illicit finance and regulatory arbitrage risks. FATF separately approved a report on decentralized finance risks. The broader backdrop is uneven global implementation of FATF Recommendation 15: as of April 2025, many jurisdictions were still only partially compliant or non-compliant on crypto-related AML rules.
