The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has made significant strides in ensuring the global implementation of its cryptocurrency standards. According to the latest report, FATF has successfully established an action plan to drive timely and comprehensive compliance with its regulations on digital assets across over 200 jurisdictions. 

The FATF has noted that several countries have failed to implement its previous crypto requirements, including the travel rule, which mandates the collection, retention, and sharing of originator and beneficiary information about virtual asset transactions. This lack of regulation has created opportunities for criminal and terrorist financiers to exploit the virtual asset market. 

To address this issue, the body has focused on a "roadmap to strengthen implementation of FATF standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, which will include a stocktake of current levels of implementation across the global network." 

“In the first half of 2024, the FATF will report on steps FATF members and FSRB countries with materially important virtual asset activity have taken to regulate and supervise virtual asset service providers.” 

The FATF will also report on the steps taken by its members and FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) to regulate and supervise virtual asset service providers. 

Countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have been among the most proactive in implementing regulations under the travel rule. Iranian and North Korean financial activities, however, have been added to FATF's "grey list."