| The goal of this paper is to analyze cryptocurrencies and the extent to which they can be regulated in the United States in regard to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) laws. This paper will focus on whether current legislation and/or laws can be applied to cryptocurrencies as they are currently constituted, and changes can be made to enhance the application of cryptocurrency transactions to better facilitate the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and other crimes that misuse cryptocurrencies. First this paper will define what is a cryptocurrency and why it is relevant today. Then, the focus will be on benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies to understand their importance followed by an evaluation the top four cryptocurrencies, based on market capitalization and volume of trading, and how they are structured and designed. Furthermore, this paper will briefly analyze the purpose of AML and BSA regulations in the United States. This paper will look to provide insight as to whether cryptocurrencies can be regulated under current laws and whether changes can be made that can retain their benefits while reducing or eliminating the risks. Then this paper will make further suggestions to create identification processes, adjustments to the blockchain programming and audit capabilities tied to legalization. |
