How “cash to crypto” swaps allow users everywhere to convert local currencies to stablecoins and then to debit cards, avoiding financial oversight and sanctions
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t... Ken Caldeira / @kencaldeira.com : Is there any purpose to cryptocurrency other than to facilitate criminal activity? — www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t... Waldo Jaquith / @waldo.net : ...Are people doing anything *else* with cryptocurrency? By total value, of the amount of Bitcoin etc. that is used as currency (and not as an investment), surely the supermajority is spent on crime? Nate Schenkkan / @nateschenkkan : Stablecoins and other crypto present a solution to a real problem that comes with moving money across borders: its cost. But the reason for the cost is compliance with regulations, and the proposed solution is to evade compliance: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t... Kate Klonick / @klonick : Here's the piece by @kashhill.bsky.social www.kashmirhill.com/stories/ bitc... And here's Aaron Krolik's great piece that came out today about how the illegality that crypto has always enabled has been absolutely accelerated this last year in this direction — 2/2 — www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t... Kate Klonick / @klonick : For the first ~6 years of its existence, the big question around crypto currency was “what's the use case”— @kashhill.bsky.social had a great 2013 “living on bitcoin” story that was defining. — But for the last year the answer has been clear: crypto's best use case is fraud & political corruption … @watchdogprg : I have stated many times: crypto is the currency of criminals. NYT has caught up with this fact 👇 — How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions.. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t... Mastodon: @SuffolkLITLab@esq.social : TL;DR: Experts highlight how stablecoins can obscure financial transactions, making it easier for criminals to launder money and evade sanctions through complex networks of intermediaries. https://www.nytimes.com/... #law #tech #legaltech ⚖️ 🤖 #autosum Forums: r/NoShitSherlock : How Stablecoins Can Help Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions Msmash / Slashdot : How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions
It also sharpens the compliance problem identified in Treasury's warning about noncompliant DeFi services: value can cross several intermediaries before reaching a conventional spending instrument, making oversight dependent on the weakest link in the chain.
First-order effects
Cash-to-crypto swap users can turn local cash into stablecoins and ultimately card balances while sidestepping parts of the regulated financial system, according to the report.
The intermediaries connecting cash intake, stablecoin transfers and debit-card off-ramps become key exposure points for sanctions evasion and anti-money-laundering controls.
Second-order effects
Banks, card programs and stablecoin off-ramp providers may face pressure to tighten due diligence on counterparties and transaction paths, potentially limiting access for higher-risk corridors or services.
The model reinforces the advantage of lightly supervised conversion networks over conventional cross-border payments when lower costs stem from avoided compliance obligations.
Third-order effects
If these chains continue to scale, enforcement will increasingly need to follow the full cash-to-stablecoin-to-card route rather than treat crypto exchanges as the sole control point.
The episode fits a broader crypto legitimacy gap: consumer-facing payment utility and illicit-finance risk can grow through the same infrastructure, intensifying the trade-off between access and oversight.
The trend: Stablecoins are becoming a bridge between informal local-cash networks and everyday payment rails, shifting compliance scrutiny toward the intermediaries that connect them.
“Now, criminals have a far more practical alternative: stablecoins, a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar that exists largely beyond traditional financial oversight.” @Aaron_Krolik https://www.nytimes.com/... via @NYTimes
NYT: How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions https://www.nytimes.com/... “Through layers of intermediaries, stablecoins can be moved, swapped and mixed into pools of other funds in ways that are difficult to trace” //➔ 💃🏽 dancing between the raindro…
Regulators can stop this by requiring stablecoin issuers to use allow-lists instead of only block-lists. Allowing stablecoins to be used for money laundering is a policy choice. [image]
Cryptocurrency, and stablecoins in particular, are very useful for illicit actors to evade sanctions, finance terrorism, and launder money. And there is increasingly little reasonable prospect of effective regulation. https://www.nytimes.com/...
The only way to end the crypto bubble is to end its legality in the OECD. The black market will then be its only use case. And that is exactly what it was designed for. How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions https://www.nytimes.com/... via @NYTimes
It seems like this article is mostly about issues caused by a network of credit card issuing companies rather than stablecoins https://www.nytimes.com/...
$25 billion in stablecoins linked to illegal activity last year. Yet Congress and Trump pretend this is about improving America's outdated payment system that the @federalreservere refuses to follow the law and fix. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cryptocurrency, and stablecoins in particular, are very useful for illicit actors to evade sanctions, finance terrorism, and launder money. And there is increasingly little reasonable prospect of effective regulation. — www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t...
...Are people doing anything *else* with cryptocurrency? By total value, of the amount of Bitcoin etc. that is used as currency (and not as an investment), surely the supermajority is spent on crime?
Stablecoins and other crypto present a solution to a real problem that comes with moving money across borders: its cost. But the reason for the cost is compliance with regulations, and the proposed solution is to evade compliance: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t...
Here's the piece by @kashhill.bsky.social www.kashmirhill.com/stories/ bitc... And here's Aaron Krolik's great piece that came out today about how the illegality that crypto has always enabled has been absolutely accelerated this last year in this direction — 2/2 — www.nytim…
For the first ~6 years of its existence, the big question around crypto currency was “what's the use case”— @kashhill.bsky.social had a great 2013 “living on bitcoin” story that was defining. — But for the last year the answer has been clear: crypto's best use case is fraud & p…
I have stated many times: crypto is the currency of criminals. NYT has caught up with this fact 👇 — How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions.. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/t...