Nearly Half of Crypto Firms Confirm AI or Automation on the User Side of Identity Checks, Survey Finds
44% of surveyed crypto firms reported confirmed AI-assisted or automated activity among users undergoing identity verification, compared with 31% in other surveyed sectors, according to the new Crypto KYC Snapshot Report from Regula, a global provider of identity verification solutions. Based on findings from the company’s 2026 global study, “Identity Verification in the Age of AI Agents,” the snapshot compares reported activity, identity verification risks, and decision traceability across crypto and other surveyed industries.
AI-assisted or automated activity may include an AI assistant or agent acting on a customer’s behalf, a script interacting with a verification flow, or other automated behavior identified through investigation or post-incident review. Confirming that AI or automation was involved does not, by itself, establish that fraud occurred or that an attack succeeded.
When asked about identity threats, crypto respondents cited counterfeit, altered, or stolen identity documents more often than deepfake or AI-generated impersonation: 44% versus 37%. These findings highlight the continued importance of document authentication alongside controls for biometric impersonation and manipulation.
Crypto KYC Snapshot report: Crypto Firms vs. Other Sectors
| Indicator | Crypto | Other sectors | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmed AI-assisted or automated activity | 44% | 31% | +13 pp |
| Document fraud concern | 44% | 34% | +10 pp |
| Full decision traceability | 62% | 49% | +13 pp |
| External explanation request | 87% | 81% | +6 pp |
Surveyed crypto firms report higher levels of confirmed AI-assisted or automated activity, document fraud concern, full decision traceability, and external requests to explain identity decisions than respondents in other sectors. Source: Regula’s 2026 “Identity Verification in the Age of AI Agents” report. Differences are shown in percentage points.
Crypto respondents report stronger decision traceability
The Crypto KYC Snapshot report also compares respondents’ ability to reconstruct past identity decisions. According to Regula’s study, 62% of crypto respondents say their organizations can fully reconstruct an identity decision, tracing all contributing systems, evidence, and decision logic. That compares with 49% in other surveyed sectors.
External requests to explain identity decisions are also common: 87% of crypto respondents say their organizations have been asked to explain an identity-related decision to a regulator, court, or external auditor, compared with 81% in other surveyed sectors.
In practice, identity verification must account for both traditional and emerging threats. An identity process may need to determine whether a document is authentic, whether the person presenting it is the rightful holder, whether biometric data was obtained from a trusted capture source, and whether automation played a legitimate or suspicious role in the interaction. Preserving the evidence behind these checks helps teams explain their decisions later.
The use of AI or automation by someone undergoing identity verification does not, in itself, indicate fraud. An AI agent may be acting legitimately on behalf of a customer. However, automation can also be used to scale attacks or manipulate the verification process. The real challenge is understanding who is acting and whether the evidence supports that control. To tell these situations apart, organizations need enough context. That means choosing checks based on the risk of the interaction and preserving the evidence behind the decision. If a case is questioned later, the team should be able to see what was presented, what the checks found, which rules were applied, and why the final decision was made.
— Henry Patishman, Executive Vice President of Identity Verification Solutions at Regula
Connecting verification with decision evidence
A unified environment for identity lifecycle management can help teams connect verification results with the evidence behind each decision. With the Regula IDV Platform, businesses can bring together document and biometric verification, decision logic, case review, customer history, and audit evidence to manage identity from initial verification through re-verification. Teams can configure and adjust verification workflows, track decisions and changes over time, and preserve the evidence behind them.
Identity verification errors also have financial consequences: 48% of crypto respondents associate incorrect identity verification results with financial loss, compared with 38% in other surveyed sectors.
For a deeper look at the findings and their implications for crypto KYC (Know Your Customer), identity verification, and fraud prevention, read the full analysis on the Regula blog.
About the “Identity Verification in the Age of AI Agents” study
The Crypto KYC Snapshot report draws on a survey conducted by Sapio Research on behalf of Regula in March 2026 among 850 fraud-prevention and financial crime decision-makers. Respondents represented six sectors – banking, financial services, crypto, telecommunications, government, and gaming and gambling – across seven markets: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Mexico.
The Snapshot report compares 102 crypto respondents with 748 respondents from the other five sectors. Crypto respondents are excluded from all peer comparisons. The question about AI-assisted or automated activity covered respondents’ organizational experience during the 12 months preceding the survey.