The International Payment Bank (BIS) published a newsletter in which it is proposed to combat money laundering in the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem and cryptocurrencies creating a “compliance score” that qualifies each digital currency or Stablecoin balance according to its transaction history. The document, shared by the entity associated with 63 central banks and monetary authorities from different parts of the world, proposes to use the transparency of cryptocurrency networks to identify and isolate funds linked to illegal activities, blocking the change to money Fíat in the exchanges and banks.
Although the document clarifies that the opinions belong to the authors and not necessarily to the BIS, the initiative states that traditional methods against money laundering, which depend on intermediaries such as banks, fail in the decentralized world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Instead, the authors They presented a system that Take advantage of the Public Transactions Registry to assign a qualification to digital assets. This score would determine whether the funds are “clean” or if they are “contaminated” by their contact with currencies of doubtful origin.
The measure would put responsibility in the “exit points” (OFF-RAMPS), Forcing exchanges, stablecoins and banks to verify this score before processing a conversion to dollars, euros or other currencies.
The system would evaluate by a numerical rating, usually on a scale of 0 to 100, which reflects the probability that funds are linked to illegal activities. A high score, close to 100, would be awarded to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies from verified and understood portfolios, known as “white list” or ALLOW LIST. These wallets are usually associated with users who have passed identity verifications (KYC) and have no links with suspicious activities.
While, the funds with high scores could circulate without restrictions, facilitating transactions and conversions to Fíat without complications. On the contrary, a low score, close to 0, would point to the assets that have gone through wallets included in a “blacklist” or deny listassociated with criminal activities such as hackeos, markets of the Darknet or mixers (Mixers).
The plan published by the BIS includes that the authorities of each jurisdiction establish a minimum AML score threshold to allow transactions. This approach could also impose a “duty of care” to users, encouraging them to transaction with high score wallets to avoid problems.
However, the proposal transfers risk and complexity directly to users, who would have to adapt to the following changes:
- His self -ocustody purses would no longer be a shelter. This is because, although being maintained control of the keys, trying to convert funds to Fíat, these will be subject to scrutiny based on their past.
- The exchanges could reject your funds: if your bitcoin or stablcoin receives a low score for having interacted with a direction in “blacklist”, the exchange will have the power to block deposits or retirement, affecting its liquidity.
- Increased identification requirements (KYC): Depending on rigor, users could be forced to go through a more rigorous process, even to move funds among their own wallets if they want to maintain a “clean score.”


The most radical change is the imposition of a “duty of diligence” (Duty of Care) On the user. This especially because of the fact that it will no longer be enough to receive a payment. Also Everyone will be forced to consider the origin of the funds you accept. Receiving bitcoin and cryptocurrencies from a “contaminated” source could stain the entire balance of a wallet.
The entire plan implies new costs and complexity for users to protect, they will probably have to resort to third -party services to analyze the origin of assets before accepting them, adding costs and friction to each transaction.
For the strict proposal, it is clear that There is a marked interest in the regulation being embedded in the logic of each transaction. For users, this means that sovereignty about their assets will be accompanied by a new and complex layer of personal responsibility and constant surveillance.