ACAMS launches crypto crime training with Chainalysis

ACAMS has launched an enhanced Certified Cryptoasset AFC Specialist programme with Chainalysis. The certification is the first major ACAMS qualification to include content from an external global partner.

The move comes as banks and other financial institutions expand their work in stablecoins, tokenised deposits and related digital asset services, bringing crypto risk closer to existing anti-money laundering, sanctions and fraud controls. The revised training is designed to help anti-financial crime professionals identify and manage those risks as digital assets move further into mainstream finance.

According to the organisations, the updated programme adds material from Chainalysis, a blockchain data and analytics company, and expands the course structure beyond the earlier certification. It includes an updated Cryptoassets and Blockchain course and three new courses covering financial crime risks and regulatory frameworks for cryptoassets, anti-financial crime compliance programmes for cryptoassets, and crypto case studies.

Those additions reflect a shift in how financial institutions view digital assets. What was once treated as a specialist or experimental area is increasingly becoming part of routine compliance work, particularly as regulators in major markets put clearer rules in place for crypto-related products and services.

In the US, lawmakers have set out a federal framework for activity linked to stablecoins, tokenised deposits, custody and treasury services. Elsewhere, regulators in Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Hong Kong are also advancing cryptoasset regimes, adding pressure on compliance teams to understand blockchain-based transactions within established control frameworks.

That backdrop has also been shaped by the growth of stablecoin use. ACAMS cited figures showing that stablecoins processed USD $28 trillion in real economic volume in 2025, underscoring the scale at which digital assets now intersect with the financial system.

Crime trends

At the same time, criminal use of cryptoassets has continued to expand. Chainalysis estimates that illicit crypto addresses received at least USD $154 billion in 2025, including USD $17 billion stolen through crypto scams and fraud.

The figures illustrate why anti-financial crime teams are being asked to broaden their expertise beyond conventional account monitoring and customer due diligence. Analysts and investigators increasingly need to trace funds across blockchains, assess exposure to illicit wallets, and understand how crypto transactions are used in fraud schemes, sanctions evasion and laundering networks.

ACAMS also pointed to a training gap in the sector. At its Assembly Las Vegas 2026 event, 79% of surveyed anti-financial crime professionals said crypto and digital assets represented their biggest training or knowledge gap.

That shortfall is one reason specialist training providers and compliance technology groups have been investing more heavily in digital asset education. For financial institutions, the issue is not only whether to offer crypto-related products, but whether existing teams can adapt quickly enough to oversee the risks that come with them.

"Staying ahead of financial crime requires practitioners to continually build new skills as threats and technologies evolve," said Neil Sternthal, Chief Executive Officer, ACAMS.

"Together with Chainalysis, we're setting a new benchmark for training practitioners with crypto anti-financial crime expertise to confront today's blockchain threats and anticipate what's coming next," Sternthal said.

Training focus

The redesigned certification includes case studies, blockchain investigations, e-learning material and a 300-question practice exam. The content has been updated to reflect current regulatory developments, emerging criminal typologies and wider industry trends.

The emphasis on case studies suggests an effort to make the qualification more practical for compliance staff who may already work in anti-money laundering, fraud or sanctions roles but lack direct experience of on-chain investigations. In many financial institutions, responsibility for crypto risk is no longer confined to a stand-alone digital assets team, but is spreading across broader compliance and risk functions.

Chainalysis framed the partnership around the growing speed and complexity of criminal activity on blockchain networks, particularly where artificial intelligence is used to scale scam operations or disguise identities.

"The advantage the transparency of blockchains provides only matters if practitioners have the data, skills and tools to use it," said Jonathan Levin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chainalysis.

"Criminals are using AI to automate scams, generate synthetic identities and move funds across chains in seconds. Compliance teams need equally powerful tools to identify and disrupt that activity at the same machine scale and pace. That is exactly what this partnership with ACAMS - the gold standard for AFC certification - delivers," Levin said.

ACAMS says it has more than 120,000 members across more than 200 countries and territories and is used by banks, financial technology groups, government bodies and law enforcement agencies. The organisation said the new crypto certification sits alongside its broader training and intelligence offering for anti-financial crime professionals.

The launch also signals a broader change in the market for compliance education. As digital asset activity becomes more tightly woven into banking and payments, specialist crypto knowledge is shifting from niche optional training to a core expectation for teams dealing with money laundering, fraud and sanctions risk.