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Specialist · Updated October 2026

CCAS Certification Exam (Certified Cryptoasset Anti-Financial Crime Specialist): free practice test

ACAMS' crypto certification for compliance, investigations and risk teams at crypto businesses, banks and regulators. It covers how blockchains and cryptoassets work, the financial crime risks and regulatory frameworks that apply to them, building AFC programs for virtual asset service providers, and blockchain investigations.

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About the CCAS exam

ACAMS' crypto certification for compliance, investigations and risk teams at crypto businesses, banks and regulators. It covers how blockchains and cryptoassets work, the financial crime risks and regulatory frameworks that apply to them, building AFC programs for virtual asset service providers, and blockchain investigations.

What's on the exam

CCAS
Blockchain and Cryptoasset Fundamentals
7 key facts
Crypto Financial Crime Risks and Typologies
7 key facts
Regulatory Frameworks for Cryptoassets
7 key facts
AFC Compliance Programs for Crypto Businesses
7 key facts
DeFi, NFTs and Emerging Risks
7 key facts
Blockchain Investigations and Case Studies
7 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the CCAS exam

  • You don't need to be a developer, but you must understand wallets, keys, transactions, mixers, bridges and stablecoins well enough to judge risk.
  • Know FATF Recommendation 15 and the Travel Rule, and how the EU (MiCA and the Transfer of Funds Regulation) applies them.
  • Case-study questions test investigation logic: following funds on-chain, spotting typologies and deciding when to file.
  • The exam is only offered in English, so practice reading long scenarios quickly.

Save your results and get your Readiness Score

Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the first study-notes topic, flashcards and the AML Red Flags Cheat Sheet.

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What's in the full CCAS prep

Full question bank

150+ exam-style questions written to each official outline. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

Timed exam simulator

Real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

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Flashcards + spaced repetition

298+ cards that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

Key study notes

Each topic boiled down to the 5 to 7 facts that get tested, with the standard or rule behind them.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. What does a private key allow its holder to do?
Answer: Sign transactions and move the cryptoassets held at the related address. Whoever controls the private key controls the funds. That's why custody (who holds the keys) is central to crypto risk and regulation.
2. A wallet where the user, not a service provider, holds the private keys is called:
Answer: A self-hosted (unhosted) wallet. Self-hosted wallets aren't run by a regulated VASP, so there's no institution doing KYC on the owner. Transfers to and from them carry extra risk.
3. Why can blockchain analytics firms often link several addresses to the same owner?
Answer: Heuristics such as common-input ownership group addresses used together in one transaction. Public ledgers are pseudonymous, not anonymous. Clustering heuristics, plus exchange KYC data, let investigators attribute addresses to services and people.
4. Under FATF Recommendation 15, which businesses must countries license or register and supervise for AML/CFT?
Answer: Virtual asset service providers (VASPs). FATF R.15 requires VASPs, such as exchanges, custodial wallet providers and some brokers, to be licensed or registered and to apply the full set of preventive measures.
5. The FATF 'Travel Rule' for virtual assets requires VASPs to:
Answer: Obtain, hold and transmit originator and beneficiary information with virtual asset transfers. Recommendation 16, applied to VASPs, requires originator and beneficiary information to travel with the transfer. FATF allows a de minimis threshold of USD/EUR 1,000; the EU applies it with no threshold.
6. Which EU regulation applies the Travel Rule to crypto-asset transfers with no minimum threshold, from 30 December 2024?
Answer: The Transfer of Funds Regulation (EU) 2023/1113. The recast Transfer of Funds Regulation extends payer and payee information requirements to crypto-asset transfers. MiCA separately sets licensing for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).
7. Why are privacy coins such as Monero considered higher risk for AML?
Answer: Their design hides senders, receivers and amounts, which limits transaction tracing. Ring signatures, stealth addresses and confidential amounts make tracing far harder. Many regulated exchanges have delisted privacy coins for this reason.
8. A service that pools funds from many users and redistributes them to break the on-chain link between sender and receiver is a:
Answer: Mixer or tumbler. Mixers obscure the trail of funds. Exposure to mixers is a major red flag, and several mixing services have been sanctioned or prosecuted.
9. Moving funds rapidly across different blockchains, for example through bridges and swaps, to break the trail is called:
Answer: Chain hopping. Chain hopping exploits the gaps between blockchains. Cross-chain bridges have also been a major target of hacks, including by DPRK-linked groups.
10. A pattern where a large balance is moved through a long series of transactions, each sending a small amount to an exchange and the rest to a new address, is a:
Answer: Peel chain. Peel chains 'peel off' small amounts, often to cash out at exchanges, while the remainder keeps moving. They are a common laundering pattern after hacks.
11. In a 'pig butchering' scam, victims are typically:
Answer: Groomed over weeks through a fake relationship, then persuaded to invest in a fake crypto platform. Pig butchering (relationship investment) scams build trust first, show fake profits on a fraudulent platform, then take larger and larger deposits. They are often run by organized crime from scam compounds.
12. A crypto exchange's customer receives funds directly from an address flagged as a darknet market. What should the exchange do first?
Answer: Review the exposure and the customer's activity, consider freezing or escalating, and decide whether to file a suspicious activity report. Direct exposure to illicit services needs risk-based review: investigate the customer, apply controls such as holds where policy allows, and report suspicious activity to the FIU.
13. Which control lets a VASP screen the risk of a deposit or withdrawal address before or after a transaction?
Answer: Blockchain analytics (wallet screening and transaction monitoring) tools. Blockchain analytics tools score addresses and transactions for exposure to sanctioned entities, scams, mixers, darknet markets and other risk categories.
14. Why are stablecoins a growing AML concern?
Answer: Their stable value and wide use make them attractive for moving illicit funds across borders, including in scams and sanctions evasion. Recent FATF and blockchain analytics reports show stablecoins now account for a large share of illicit on-chain volume. Issuers can freeze tokens, which is an important control.
15. An investigator wants to know which exchange received stolen funds so they can request customer records. What is the usual next step after tracing the funds to an exchange's deposit address?
Answer: Send a legal request (or, for the exchange itself, an internal review) to identify the account holder behind that deposit address. Regulated exchanges perform KYC. Law enforcement uses subpoenas or production orders, and the exchange's own compliance team reviews and reports the customer.

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Related practice tests

Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in October 2026. ACAMS changes formats and fees, so confirm with ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists) before you book. AMLExamPrep is not affiliated with ACAMS or Pearson VUE.

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