Five Key Themes We Heard at Crypto Compliance Connect London 2025

In late May, TRM Labs hosted Crypto Compliance Connect in London, convening leaders from across the financial ecosystem — from fintech, banking, and crypto-native platforms — to explore the evolving landscape of crypto compliance. The discussions were wide-ranging but deeply pragmatic — focusing on what actionable, scalable, and future-proof compliance looks like as the digital asset space matures.

Read on for a recap and to learn more about the key themes covered throughout the day.

1. A new era for entity monitoring

With the digital asset ecosystem evolving rapidly, the tools and frameworks that have historically sufficed for assessing entity risk are falling short. Several speakers noted that compliance teams are increasingly focusing on real-time behavioral monitoring and network-level analysis to detect anomalous patterns earlier and more accurately — helping to guard their organizations against unnecessary risk.

Takeaways: Tooling and training are essential for effective monitoring

• Entity risk cannot be divorced from behavioral context. Addressing risk means looking beyond static exposure metrics and integrating transaction history, counterparties, and behavioral anomalies.
• Scam activity is shifting. With more retail users entering the crypto space, scams are growing more sophisticated and becoming harder for even the most sophisticated systems to detect. A number of speakers emphasized the importance of public-private data sharing and collaboration with law enforcement and government agencies to help combat these threats.
• Training and tooling must evolve together. High-functioning compliance teams are investing equally in technology and analyst expertise to act on risk assessment insights.

{{BlogAd-KeyConsiderationsEntityDueDiligence-Guide-1}}

2. Hidden threats and high-risk enablers

A key topic for the day was that the most dangerous facilitators of financial crime are not always overtly illicit services — but often seemingly legitimate intermediaries with weak controls. For example, some nesting relationships, non-Know Your Customer (KYC) services, and permissive payment processors are all being exploited by threat actors.

Takeaways: The threat landscape is evolving rapidly

• Transparency does not equal safety. While blockchain transactions offer visibility, obfuscation techniques and poor off-chain controls allow illicit flows to persist undetected.
• Typologies must evolve. Traditional heuristics are being outpaced by the speed and creativity of illicit actors. Real-time investigations and typology testing across firms can enable faster disruption.
• Displacement is predictable. Taking down one bad actor often results in another filling the void (as we’ve recently seen with Garantex / Grinex). Ongoing monitoring is essential.

3. Stablecoin compliance at scale

Stablecoins also dominated the conversation throughout the day. With stablecoin transfer volume reaching USD 35 trillion in 2024 — significantly surpassing Visa’s USD 15.7 trillion and Mastercard’s USD 9 trillion — compliance teams face heightened responsibilities around transaction monitoring, visibility, and control. The substantial average transfer size of approximately USD 675,000 underscores the institutional scale of adoption, prompting deeper discussions around compliance obligations across financial institutions, payment processors, and DeFi platforms.

Takeaways: Stablecoins are here to stay

• Stablecoin activity is no longer speculative. The average transfer size suggests significant institutional use, particularly in corporate cash management and cross-border settlement.
• Jurisdictional fragmentation is complicating compliance. Even as MiCA and other frameworks bring clarity to stablecoin regulation, market participants are operating across borders, creating complex webs of risk and regulatory requirements
• Issuer obligations are expanding. Many participants noted a shift in regulatory and banking expectations. Issuers may increasingly be asked to monitor downstream activity to understand holistic ecosystem risks.

{{BlogAd-Regulatory-Action-Tracker-1}}

4. Practical innovation in compliance infrastructure

How compliance teams are building scalable and resilient programs was another key topic of discussion — particularly in a rapidly changing environment. Several speakers emphasized the importance of establishing a strong compliance foundation, including defining clear crisis management plans and clear risk appetite definitions, and deeper collaboration with product teams from the outset.

Takeaways: Compliance should always be part of the conversation

• Start with the basics. A clear definition of risk tolerance and a well-tested crisis response plan are non-negotiables.
• Compliance should be a partner, not a blocker. Embedding compliance early in the product development process enables speed without sacrificing safeguards.
• Products and people matter. In selecting vendors, teams are prioritizing solutions that demonstrate problem-solving depth, upskill their teams, and leverage their feedback to continuously innovate.

5. Public-private collaboration is a force multiplier

Speakers and participants also explored the growing impact and importance of public-private partnerships in detecting and disrupting illicit activity. Programs like TRM, TRON, and Tether’s T3 initiative — which facilitates proactive freezing of funds with stablecoin issuers and law enforcement — were held up as examples of what’s possible when collaboration is the norm.

Takeaways: Information sharing helps everyone be more successful

• Information sharing accelerates outcomes. Whether through automated suspicious activity reports (SARs) or collaborative intelligence efforts, shared insights make all stakeholders more effective.
• The industry needs shared standards. Participants repeatedly called for clearer expectations on monitoring responsibilities across the stablecoin ecosystem.
• Banks are critical gatekeepers. With stablecoin adoption rising, traditional financial institutions have new opportunities — and responsibilities — to shape the future trajectory of compliance.

While the challenges facing today’s compliance teams are complex, the path forward is becoming clearer. Leaders are moving beyond static controls and toward dynamic, intelligence-led programs — and building systems that are flexible, forward-looking, and rooted in collaboration.

{{horizontal-line}}

Learn more about how TRM Labs helps crypto-native platforms, banks, and fintechs build best in class compliance programs by visiting trmlabs.com.