AML/KYC in DeFi: Compliance Without Centralization

As decentralized finance (DeFi) matures, regulators, analytics firms, protocol ecosystems, and builders are under growing pressure to reconcile strict AML/KYC expectations with non‑custodial and permissionless designs. Japan’s regulatory stance, combined with global enforcement trends, is pushing the ecosystem to move beyond “anonymous by default” while preserving the core values of decentralization and user sovereignty. This session brings together policy, supervisory, analytics, protocol, and builder perspectives to examine how on‑chain analytics, verifiable credentials, and privacy‑enhancing technologies can enable compliant DeFi without reverting to traditional centralised intermediaries. The discussion will focus on what regulator‑ready solutions look like for non‑custodial protocols, how responsibility is shared across the DeFi stack, and how emerging approaches may shape design choices, governance models, and market access for DeFi platforms engaging with Japan and the broader Asia‑Pacific region.