Cross-chain compliance is cryptos hidden AML gap
Cross-chain compliance gaps at blockchain bridges are cryptos most dangerous AML blind spot, ThetaRay CEO Brad Levy says.Brad Levy, CEO of ThetaRay, says compliance teams routinely lose visibility at blockchain bridges, the point where assets move between different chains.ThetaRays AI flagged a UK retail customer declared as a packer who received over £134,000 from 40 counterparties before executing regular crypto purchases.Levy says any bank with a fiat-to-crypto blind spot will face regulators treating it as a governance failure within the next 12 months. Compliance teams monitoring crypto transactions lose the trail the moment assets cross a blockchain bridge. Brad Levy, CEO of ThetaRay, calls this the Cross-Chain Compliance Gap, the blind spot that emerges when funds move from Ethereum to a Layer 2 or alternative chain and the transaction data fragments at the crossing point. “Somewhere between where Ethereum ends and an L2 or alternative chain begins, the data becomes fragmented as the money moves through blockchain bridges,” Levy said. In 2026, real transaction volumes are scaling through these routes and legacy banks are encountering a frontier their AML systems were never built for. Why blockchain bridges are the gap no one is watching TRM Labs has documented that most illicit actors in 2026