Ireland has released its first National Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing Strategy, introducing tougher controls on cryptocurrency activity. Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris launched the plan on August 13, 2026, describing it as the most significant strengthening of the country’s financial crime framework in years.

The strategy sets policy direction through 2030 and completes Ireland’s remaining obligations under the European Union’s Transfer of Funds Regulation. Crypto-asset service providers must now apply enhanced checks to transfers involving private or self-hosted wallets and conduct stricter due diligence when dealing with firms based outside the EU.

New Obligations for Crypto Transfers

Under the updated rules, information on the originator and beneficiary of a transfer must travel with the transaction whenever a regulated provider is involved. Details can include names, distributed-ledger addresses, account numbers and unique transaction identifiers. Transfers to or from self-hosted wallets remain allowed, but the regulated firm handling the transaction must collect information on both parties.

For transfers exceeding €1,000, providers are required to take steps to determine whether their customer owns or controls the self-hosted address. Receiving providers must also maintain procedures to detect missing or incomplete information and may request further details, suspend the transfer, return the assets or reject the transaction depending on the assessed risk.

These requirements apply to the regulated intermediary rather than to individuals who simply hold or move assets through private wallets. Holding or transferring tokens via a self-hosted wallet does not itself turn a person into a regulated service provider.

Harris said criminal organisations are increasingly using new technologies, crypto-assets and complex international financial networks to hide illicit profits. The strategy, he added, will give law enforcement stronger tools, improve intelligence sharing and protect Ireland’s reputation as a trusted place to do business.

Link to Earlier Risk Assessment and MiCA Timeline

The national strategy builds directly on Ireland’s June 2026 National Risk Assessment and accompanying 30-point action plan. That earlier review classified crypto-assets as a very significant money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk, citing fraud, sanctions evasion and uneven international regulation. It also noted that roughly one in ten people in Ireland had invested in crypto as of the previous December.

Ireland’s approach to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation included a relatively short 12-month transition period that ended on December 30, 2025. Firms that previously operated under national registration therefore needed full MiCA authorisation earlier than in many other member states. The Transfer of Funds rules and MiCA serve complementary purposes: one governs the information that must accompany asset movements, while the other covers authorisation, conduct and supervision of crypto businesses.

Gambling Sector Standards on the Horizon

A concrete domestic measure carried forward from the June action plan concerns gambling. By the second quarter of 2027 the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland must establish an industry standard for accepting crypto-related activity as a source of funds. Operators will be required to perform due diligence to verify that money linked to digital assets comes from legitimate sources.

The standard addresses the point at which crypto proceeds enter regulated gambling services rather than prohibiting ownership of digital assets. It forms part of wider efforts to tighten oversight of sectors considered vulnerable to money laundering, including machine-based casino gambling.

Broader EU and National Context

Further EU restrictions are scheduled to take effect in July 2027 under the bloc’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation. Those rules will prohibit crypto-asset service providers from offering or maintaining anonymous accounts or accounts that further obscure transactions through anonymity-enhancing features. Self-hosted wallets themselves remain outside the account prohibition when the hardware or software provider has no access to or control over the assets.

The new Irish strategy also advances transparency measures around company ownership, new disclosure requirements for limited partnerships and higher-risk corporate vehicles, modernised financial intelligence capabilities and stronger coordination among government departments, law enforcement, regulators and the private sector. Implementation is already under way and is intended to support Ireland’s preparations for its next mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force.

Taken together, the measures complete key remaining elements of the EU Transfer of Funds framework while embedding crypto-specific controls into Ireland’s long-term financial crime response through 2030.