The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has placed sanctions on cryptocurrency mixing service Sinbad, alleging that the mixer served as a money laundering channel for the notorious North Korean hackers Lazarus Group. According to the enforcement agency, Sinbad has been used to launder millions of dollars...Read More
The largest US-based crypto exchange experienced a threefold increase in law enforcement requests in the current year compared to 2020, as revealed in its latest transparency report. The total number of requests during the reporting period amounted to 13,079, marking approximately a 6% rise from the previous year. Notably, the United States maintained its position...Read More
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a $1 billion class action lawsuit for promoting the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. According to a document filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Miami Division, the plaintiffs accuse Ronaldo of promoting, assisting, and participating in the offer and sale...Read More
Arthur Hayes, the founder of the BitMEX crypto exchange network, issued a statement expressing his perspective on the unfair treatment of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, by American authorities. Hayes criticized the treatment, deeming it absurd and inconsistent, emphasizing that it only highlights the arbitrary nature of punishment. BitMEX Founder...Read More
A United States district judge issued an order temporarily preventing former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao from returning to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before his sentencing in February 2024. Zhao previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to anti-money laundering violations. Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at...Read More
United States prosecutors arrested three people for allegedly stealing $10 million from financial institutions and laundering the stolen funds using cryptocurrency exchanges. The individuals could each get up to over 80 years in prison if found guilty of the allegations. Defrauding Banks and Channeling Proceeds to Crypto Exchanges A press release by the U.S. Attorney’s...Read More
The United States has persistently stumbled in delivering clear regulatory guidance for digital assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) presides over instruments and assets deemed as securities, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates the trading of derivatives on commodities. This landscape leaves a regulatory gap for digital assets that defy the categorization...Read More
Research conducted by TRM Labs reveals that the growth rate of crypto-denominated fentanyl sales has slowed down in 2023. The first three quarters of the year saw an increase of just under 60% in these sales, a sharp decline from the 155% average growth rate recorded since 2019. TRM Labs Study Shows Slowdown in Crypto...Read More
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has published a set of new rules guiding the listing and delisting of digital assets to ensure the activities of crypto firms protect investors from financial harm. According to an official post from the department, the new guidance is effective immediately and will replace older standards...Read More
New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a civil forfeiture action against Christopher Castelluzzo and two other members of an unnamed drug trafficking group based in New Jersey. According to the filing, the other two members of the group are Luke Atwell – a friend and business partner of Castelluzzo’s who is currently serving a...Read More
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused two former CEOs of collapsed California-based tech company Bitwise Industries, of alleged misrepresentation and fraud, which they used to raise funds from unsuspecting investors. The defunct company is not associated with the major crypto asset manager, Bitwise, even though both entities bear identical names. Former Bitwise...Read More
In a move aimed at preserving the autonomy of cryptocurrency users and safeguarding their ability to self-custody digital assets, U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) has introduced the Keep Your Coins Act. This legislative proposal, which came after last year’s FTX exchange collapse, seeks to protect individuals’ rights to conduct cryptocurrency transactions without relying on third-party...Read More
The founders behind the once multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency, SafeMoon (SFM), have been charged with multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy by U.S. government, with accompanying charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Wednesday, founders Braden John Karony (aka “CPT_HODL_T_MUN”) and Thomas Smith (aka “papa”) were arrested in Provo, Utah and Bethlehem, New Hampshire,...Read More
Major crypto exchange Bittrex has on Oct. 30 been given the go-ahead by the US bankruptcy court to shutter operations in the United States and also liquidate its assets to repay creditors. While the company is closing down its US business, the international arm based in Lichtenstein continues to serve customers in other jurisdictions. Bittrex...Read More
The United States is the world’s largest cryptocurrency market, accounting for 24.4% of global transaction activity, according to a recent report by Chainalysis. The report, released on October 23, revealed that there was an estimated $1.2 trillion in value received on-chain between July 2022 and June 2023 in the U.S. Moreover, institutional activity makes up...Read More
In a recent study conducted by Coinbase, a paradigm shift has emerged among the young American population. An impressive 38% of younger Americans now believe crypto and blockchain technology can provide significant economic opportunities not commonly found in the traditional finance sector. Interestingly, this stands in stark contrast to older generations, where approximately 26% share...Read More
U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo confirmed in a speech on Friday that crypto plays a relevant, but still relatively minor role in global terrorist financing operations. His comments bear a stark contrast to claims from a massive lineup of congresspeople earlier this month, asserting that crypto is responsible for over $130 million in Hamas...Read More
A medical doctor pleaded guilty to using the dark web in a murder-for-hire plot against his girlfriend. The individual paid a total of over $25,000 worth of bitcoin to carry out the murderous plot, which was averted by authorities. $25,200 in Bitcoin for a Murder Plot According to a press release by the US Department...Read More
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has long taken a negative view of crypto mixing services, which it names CVCs (Convertible Virtual Currency Mixing Services). Although there are perfectly legitimate uses of such services – primarily by privacy-focused customers who are simply willing to pay a fee in order to reduce the possibility of being...Read More
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a complaint against former CEO of Voyager Digital, Stephen Ehrlich, alleging that the ex-chief committed fraud and failed to register the bankrupt crypto lender with the agency. In a related development, another US regulatory body, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced that it reached a settlement...Read More
On Oct. 10, the billionaire investor told CNBC that it was an extremely tough time to be an investor in risk assets amid escalating geopolitical tensions and America’s dire financial situation. The founder and chief investment officer of Tudor Investment said, “It’s a really challenging time to want to be an equity investor and in...Read More
TL;DR Jeremy Hogan estimates a 40% chance of a trial in 2024, a 32% chance of a settlement, and a 19% chance of an agreement by end of 2023. Some believe the SEC might extend the legal process to maintain uncertainty in the crypto sector. Yassin Mobarak suggests the SEC might drop charges against Ripple...Read More
With the odds of a US government shutdown increasing by the day, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly looking to expedite Ethereum Futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approvals, according to senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. Meanwhile, the SEC remains hesitant to approve spot Bitcoin ETF applications, with the agency recently delaying its decision on...Read More
Ripple is hosting a party to further unite the XRP community and, more importantly, celebrate the landmark partial victory against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) secured in mid-July. Apart from drinking and having fun, though, some people believe the gathering could witness some serious developments surrounding the blockchain enterprise and its future advancement....Read More
The residents of Texas can now settle their solar panel bills in various cryptocurrencies, including the popular memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB). Numerous analysts have previously argued that mass adoption is among the essential factors in increasing the price of the coin. Paying Bills in SHIB The offering became available after the blockchain payment system FCF...Read More
US-based cryptocurrency exchange giant Coinbase continues to push forward with its efforts to seek regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, claiming that the current enforcement approach by regulators stifles innovation and puts global leadership at risk. The company has launched a new campaign to mobilize over 50 million crypto holders in the United States to...Read More
The legal battle between Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains a trend in the crypto space. Both entities have fired multiple shots at each other in the past three years, with the crypto company currently having the upper hand. In this article, we will observe the most recent developments around...Read More
On Sept. 20, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act passed out of the Financial Services Committee. Republican Senator Tom Emmer said it was, “A historical step in defending against an ever-expanding government surveillance state.” The House Majority Whip has been battling against Federal Reserve moves to develop a CBDC. The first anti-CBDC bill in the United...Read More
The lawsuit between Ripple and America’s securities regulator – the US SEC – is undoubtedly one of the trendiest topics in the cryptocurrency space. The legal battle started in 2020 when the watchdog accused the former and its management team of breaching laws and using the alleged unregistered security XRP to raise funds. Since then,...Read More
The leading cryptocurrency exchange – Coinbase – has reportedly started offering crypto loans to US institutional investors. The move could signal the company’s willingness to strengthen its position in America despite the regulatory uncertainty and the issues with local watchdogs. Recall that the US SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in June, accusing the trading...Read More
