The Legal Mechanisms of the UN’s Activities in Preventing and Regulating Crimes in the Field of Crypto-Assets

The global proliferation of crypto-assets presents unprecedented challenges and opportunities for international criminal law. While these digital innovations offer financial inclusivity and technological advancement, they simultaneously facilitate novel forms of transnational crime, including money laundering, terrorism financing, and cyber-enabled fraud. In response to this emerging threat landscape, the United Nations (UN) has initiated a multifaceted legal and institutional response, primarily through frameworks such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), guidance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and collaborative initiatives with international bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This paper explores the legal mechanisms employed by the UN to combat crimes linked to crypto-assets, emphasizing their impact on global and domestic regulatory systems. With a particular focus on Uzbekistan, this study conducts a comparative analysis with regulatory developments in the United States, the European Union, China, Japan, and South Korea. Using a doctrinal and comparative legal methodology, this research provides a critical literature review and contextualizes international instruments within contemporary state practice. The study concludes by identifying key gaps in international enforcement mechanisms and offers normative suggestions for enhancing the efficacy of the UN’s legal architecture concerning crypto-asset crime prevention and regulation.