Fiat is the Top Choice of Currency for Financial Criminals, Says US Treasury

Richard Marley

March 21, 2022

The US Treasury Department has released a three-year report on money laundering and terrorist financing, revealing that fiat is the top choice of currency for financial criminals.

Based on the report, fiat currency, a government-issued currency, is still the top choice for financial criminals to launder the proceeds of crime. Concerns have always centered on the possibility of crypto-assets being used for nefarious reasons, however, the US Treasury Department just released something that dispels these anxieties.

Despite widespread fears that cryptocurrency could be used for criminal purposes, a newly published report by the US Treasury indicates that the bulk of financial crimes is still committed using fiat money.

The US Treasury presented a three-year report on money laundering, proliferation financing, and terrorist financing early this month. And they were all based on digital assets.

And crypto detractors may believe this is all about digital assets being widely employed in these sectors. Nevertheless, fiat currencies and traditional money are still more often utilized in this circumstance, thus they are more likely to come into play.

The Treasury’s findings include a detailed discussion of virtual currencies, stating that both their user base and market capitalization have expanded dramatically since the previous risk assessment in 2020. However, these reports found that criminal flows via fiat currency and established networks continue to outnumber those involving cryptocurrency.

According to the US Treasury, “The use of crypto assets for money laundering continues to be significantly less prevalent than the use of fiat cash and other more traditional means.”