This chapter investigates the regulatory context of the AML/CFT regime and its evolution. It provides insights into the perceived risks related to crypto-assets and the (purported) anonymous character of the sphere. The chapter heeds the importance of the activity of the FATF as a sector-specific player within the dynamics of global financial regulation, and analyses its Recommendations as instruments of soft-law. Meanwhile, it outlines the main obligations, through the lens of their EU-level implementation, and underlines the importance of the RBA, which underpins all duties imposed on regulated entities. Moreover, the chapter analyses selected initiatives of technical standardisation related to crypto-assets, blockchain technologies or DLTs, underlining the interplay between technical and regulatory standards. It expands on the nature of the EU’s AML/CFT regulatory methodology from minimum harmonisation to a single rulebook. Starting from the relationship between EU law and international standards, the chapter addresses the new AML Authority and its task of drafting RTSs. It displays the problematic application of the intermediary-based approach to the crypto-asset space, with special regard to DeFi platforms and DEXes. The matter is exemplified by the difficulty in complying with the crypto travel rule.