DeFi's permissionless nature poses challenges for AML compliance, lacking centralized oversight like traditional finance.Key AML challenges in DeFi include the absence of KYC requirements, obfuscation techniques, and smart contract vulnerabilities.Smart contracts can automate AML compliance in DeFi by integrating on-chain transaction monitoring and decentralized identity verification.Risk-based smart contract permissions and blacklist/whitelist integration help in enforcing compliance transparently.Automated reporting through smart contracts can generate AML reports and facilitate decentralized regulatory integration.Challenges in implementing AML smart contracts include balancing privacy and compliance, resistance from the DeFi community, and governance issues.The future of AML automation in DeFi may involve Zero-Knowledge Proofs, decentralized risk-scoring, and smart contract governance models.Smart contracts offer a path to automate AML in DeFi while maintaining decentralization, aiming for financial integrity and transparency.Widespread adoption of ZKPs, decentralized risk-scoring, and smart contract governance are expected to shape the future of AML compliance in DeFi.Implementing AML in DeFi with smart contracts aims to achieve compliance without compromising the core ethos of openness and transparency.