FATF
The Financial Action Task Force is a global standard-setter for anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing rules.
FATF stands for the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body that develops global standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and related financial crime. It does not usually write laws directly. Instead, it issues recommendations that governments translate into local regulations, and it reviews countries to assess whether their rules and enforcement are effective.
In crypto, FATF matters because its guidance shapes how exchanges, custodians, and other virtual asset service providers handle compliance. A key example is the “Travel Rule,” which requires certain crypto businesses to collect and share sender and recipient information for qualifying transfers, similar to rules already used in traditional bank wires. FATF standards influence licensing, customer identity checks, transaction monitoring, and how regulators evaluate crypto platforms across borders.
Other terms in Regulation & Tax
AML
Anti-money laundering rules and processes aim to stop criminals from using financial systems, including crypto platforms, to hide or move illicit funds.
BitLicense
A state license required for many virtual currency businesses that serve customers in New York.
CARF
CARF is an OECD framework for tax reporting and automatic exchange of information about crypto-asset transactions.
Crypto Tax Loss Harvesting
A tax strategy where investors sell crypto at a loss to realize a capital loss that may offset taxable gains, subject to local rules.