A lot of early adopters are sitting on serious crypto gains: coins mined in 2013, ETH bought at ICO, payments for coding gigs back when nobody cared. Now the question is: how do you turn that into a house, fiat, or an investment without being accused of money laundering?
Everywhere in the world, the definition is the same:
US (18 U.S.C. §1956) and UK (POCA 2002) statutes say the same. No criminal origin, no laundering.
The stumbling block isn’t criminal law but compliance. Banks and notaries demand a paper trail that fits their risk manuals. But crypto from 2013–2015 rarely has neat KYC receipts.
That doesn’t make it dirty. It makes it a bureaucratic problem.
Solutions exist, and they work everywhere with slight local tweaks:
Laundering requires acting knowing assets came from crime. Courts in Spain, EU, US, and UK all insist on this. Poor documentation ≠ criminal intent. Law is about mens rea, not allucinations of bank monkeys.
If you hold crypto and want to buy property in Spain, Europe, America or anywhere else, you’re not a criminal. Crypto with lawful origin remains lawful, because you can’t launder clean money. What you need is the right structure and the right documents to make banks and notaries stop harassing you.
If you’re sitting on 6-7-8-9 figures in crypto and want to turn it into a house, business, yacht, island or fiat—anywhere in the world—this can be structured safely.
1. Money laundering has a precise legal meaning
Everywhere in the world, the definition is the same:
- Assets must come from a criminal activity (the “predicate offense”).
- The person must act knowing that criminal origin (intention, mens rea).
- Article 301 of the Spanish Criminal Code:
- EU Directive 2018/1673: laundering only applies to property “derived from criminal activity.”
- Case law (CJEU Balogh, STS 974/2012): without a predicate crime, no laundering.
US (18 U.S.C. §1956) and UK (POCA 2002) statutes say the same. No criminal origin, no laundering.
2. The real problem is Source of Funds (SoF)
The stumbling block isn’t criminal law but compliance. Banks and notaries demand a paper trail that fits their risk manuals. But crypto from 2013–2015 rarely has neat KYC receipts.
That doesn’t make it dirty. It makes it a bureaucratic problem.
3. How people cash out crypto worldwide
Solutions exist, and they work everywhere with slight local tweaks:
- Direct crypto-to-property purchases. Find a seller and/or an intermediary that handle the transaction and paperwork with the notary.
- Corporate structures. Offshore or foreign companies can book historic crypto as investment or revenue, then reinvest or distribute legally.
- Local compliance strategies. Properly prepared SoF packages, like wallet histories, declarations, invoices, help pass bank and tax scrutiny.
- Family options. Sometimes routing through a spouse/partner with cleanly documented crypto is a way to close a property deal.
4. Why intent matters legally
Laundering requires acting knowing assets came from crime. Courts in Spain, EU, US, and UK all insist on this. Poor documentation ≠ criminal intent. Law is about mens rea, not allucinations of bank monkeys.
5. What to do
If you hold crypto and want to buy property in Spain, Europe, America or anywhere else, you’re not a criminal. Crypto with lawful origin remains lawful, because you can’t launder clean money. What you need is the right structure and the right documents to make banks and notaries stop harassing you.
If you’re sitting on 6-7-8-9 figures in crypto and want to turn it into a house, business, yacht, island or fiat—anywhere in the world—this can be structured safely.
