Regulation has advanced rapidly across the crypto industry, yet many companies still struggle to establish banking relationships. Stronger legal frameworks have improved compliance expectations, but they have not automatically convinced financial institutions to work with digital asset businesses.
As reported by The Next Web, Money Laundering Reporting Officer at CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid Jelizaveta Paskovskaja believes the missing piece is trust. While regulation provides common standards, banks still expect clear evidence that a crypto company operates with the same discipline as a traditional financial institution.
Many banks continue to reject crypto businesses instead of conducting detailed risk assessments. According to Paskovskaja, this practice, often described as de-risking, reflects a preference for avoiding perceived complexity rather than evaluating each company individually. Firms with transparent ownership, strong governance, and empowered compliance teams stand a better chance of gaining banking access.
Documentation also plays a major role. Financial institutions want more than written policies. They look for structured customer onboarding, effective Know Your Business (KYB) procedures, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, regular compliance reviews, and documented responses to identified risks. Consistent execution carries more weight than formal compliance manuals.
The industry’s approach to anti-money laundering has also matured. Discussions have moved beyond broad concerns toward measurable indicators, including transaction patterns, wallet behavior, sanctions exposure, source of funds, and source of wealth. Regulatory initiatives such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, together with stricter Travel Rule requirements, have accelerated this transition toward evidence-based compliance.
Paskovskaja also challenges several common misconceptions about crypto. Blockchain transactions are generally pseudonymous rather than anonymous, allowing investigators to trace activity with specialized analytics tools. She also argues that licensed payment providers, custodians, exchanges, and peer-to-peer platforms operate under different business models and risk profiles, making blanket treatment ineffective. Blockchain analytics remains an important compliance tool, although it works best alongside KYC, KYB, sanctions screening, governance controls, and ongoing monitoring.
Looking ahead, credibility is becoming one of the industry’s strongest competitive advantages. Companies that maintain transparent governance, continuously update risk management processes, and demonstrate effective compliance controls are likely to gain greater confidence from banks, regulators, and business partners. As regulatory standards continue to evolve, operational maturity is becoming as important as technology or market growth.