US Treasury Report Says Crypto Mixers Have Lawful Uses in Protecting Onchain Financial Privacy

The US Treasury Department told Congress that digital asset mixers can be used lawfully to safeguard financial privacy on public blockchains, according to a new report. Individuals may rely on mixers to keep personal wealth, commercial transactions, and charitable donations from being openly visible onchain, and growing use of digital asset payments could drive greater dependence on such privacy tools to avoid exposing spending patterns, Treasury said. The report notes that custodial mixers operating as compliant money services businesses must register with FinCEN, maintain records, and file suspicious activity reports, and when they meet these obligations they can supply regulators and law enforcement with customer identities, transaction information, and behavioral data linked to illicit flows.