Ireland raises cryptoasset risk rating, unveils crime plan

The Irish government has elevated the risk rating for cryptoassets and introduced a comprehensive new action plan to combat financial crime, signaling a significant tightening of regulatory oversight for the digital asset sector. The updated National Risk Assessment, jointly published by the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice on June 18, 2026, identifies the misuse of digital assets as a key evolving threat alongside increasingly sophisticated fraud and vulnerabilities in global financial networks.

The assessment rates Ireland's overall money laundering threat as moderate, with low threats from terrorist financing and proliferation financing. However, it specifically raises the money laundering risk rating for cryptoasset service providers compared to its last evaluation in 2019. Officials noted that criminal networks are increasingly combining traditional cash-based methods with digital innovations, including cryptoassets.

Accompanying the assessment is a 30-point action plan designed to strengthen the state's response. Key measures include enhanced safeguards around cryptoassets and digital finance. A notable provision tasks the Gambling Regulatory Authority...