ISSN 3103-7305 • International English Edition
White-Collar, Corporate & Tax Crime
Diamond Open Access
Vol. 1, Issue 3 (2026) • Art. 6646 • pp. 1–7
Self-Laundering through Cryptoassets and Digital Currency Mixing Services
Abstract
With judgment no. 26731 of 16 July 2026, the Criminal Cassation clarifies the criminal framework governing cryptoassets, qualifying virtual currencies as economic assets capable of being the object of rights under art. 810 of the Italian Civil Code. The Court establishes that speculative operations channeled through decentralized mixing protocols fulfill the elements of self-laundering under art. 648-ter.1 of the Criminal Code, as algorithmic obfuscation precludes the personal use safe-harbor exemption.
Key Legal Takeaways
- Legal classification of cryptoassets: Virtual currencies constitute dematerialized property under Article 810 of the Italian Civil Code, capable of forming the economic proceeds of transformative criminal offences.
- Predicate tax offence: Tax savings resulting from fraudulent evasion of tax payment under Article 11 of Legislative Decree no. 74/2000 constitute unlawful pecuniary benefits susceptible to reinvestment.
- Obfuscation and mixing: The deployment of Wasabi protocols and bounce accounts creates a transactional break that fulfills the requirement of a concrete obstacle to financial traceability.
- Inapplicability of the statutory exemption: The anonymization of financial flows precludes the non-punishability clause for mere personal use or enjoyment under Article 648-ter.1(5) of the Italian Criminal Code.
Suggested Scholarly Citation & Original Reference
International / OSCOLA Citation: Redazione di Metodo Giuridico, ‘Self-Laundering through Cryptoassets and Digital Currency Mixing Services’ (2026) 1(3) Metodo Giuridico (ISSN 3103-7305) Art 6646, 1–7 <https://www.metodogiuridico.it/2026/11/11/autoriciclaggio-criptovalute-cryptoassets-servizi-mixing-cassazione-26731-2026/en/>
Original Italian Title: L’autoriciclaggio con criptovalute e servizi di mixing — License: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
