UK Crime Agency Ranks Crypto Third-Highest Economic Threat

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has identified crypto as its third-highest economic crime priority, ranking it alongside professional enablers and politically exposed persons.

The NCA released a set of nine economic crime system priorities in July 2025, with cryptoassets taking the bronze medal position at number three.

The agency's 2026 National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime highlighted the 'innovative' use of crypto products by criminals for evasion and large-scale movement of illicit value.

The NCA aims to generate its own targets, building intelligence-driven capabilities to proactively identify crypto crime rather than relying on referrals from exchanges or blockchain analytics firms.