Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the extent of the potential use of cryptocurrencies for criminal purposes; and if she will make a statement.

In the National Strategic Assessment published by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2017, the NCA assessed that cryptocurrencies will remain an enabler for online criminality because of their accessibility, perceived anonymity, speed of cross-border payments and irreversible payment mechanism. http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/807-national-strategic-assessment-of-serious-and-organised-crime-2017/file

The UK’s first National Risk Assessment (NRA) of money laundering was published on 15 October 2015. It identified the threats and vulnerabilities faced in this area, and assessed that such currencies posed a low risk for money laundering.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-national-risk-assessment-of-money-laundering-and-terrorist-financing

The Government is currently updating the NRA, which will provide an updated view of the money laundering risk posed by cryptocurrencies. The NRA will be published in the autumn.