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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInU.S. Crypto Exchange Kraken Settles With Treasury Dept. – The New York Times
Kraken, a U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, agreed on Monday to pay more than $360,000 to the Treasury Department to settle accusations of sanctions violations involving virtual currency transactions by users in Iran. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Kraken, the second-largest crypto exchange by volume in the United States, had agreed to a […]
What the OFAC Coin Center Lawsuit Means for Crypto Regulation
The argument that Coin Center seemingly presents, however, overlooks that crypto service providers ultimately cannot reside outside of regulation forever. When technology takes over the functions that would otherwise fall to people or entities, its creators and users can no longer claim it sits outside the rule of law. Policymakers will not sit by and […]
Crypto Advocacy Group Sues U.S. Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions – WSJ
A cryptocurrency research and advocacy group has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. Coin Center, a Washington, D.C.-based crypto-focused think-tank, along with three individuals, filed suit against the Treasury Department Wednesday in federal court in the Northern District of Florida, asking it to remove Tornado Cash from […]
Bittrex Fined $24 Million for Breaking U.S. Sanctions – The New York Times
The cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex was fined $24 million for breaking U.S. sanctions, the Treasury Department announced on Tuesday, the largest penalty the government has imposed on a crypto business for violating sanctions. Between 2014 and 2017, Bittrex allowed customers in Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria and the Crimea region of Ukraine to make virtual currency transactions […]
Frequently Asked Questions – Newly Added | U.S. Department of the Treasury
1076. What is prohibited as a result of OFAC’s designation of Tornado Cash? On August 8, 2022, OFAC designated the entity Tornado Cash for facilitating the laundering of proceeds of cybercrimes, including those committed by the Lazarus Group, a North Korea state-sponsored hacking group that was sanctioned in 2019. As described in FAQs 561 and […]
Can Privacy-Focused Bitcoin Projects Avoid OFAC Sanctions?
But OFAC’s action against Tornado Cash raises the stakes. Rather than sanctioning an individual or an organization tied to terrorism or drug trafficking, the agency has made it a crime for otherwise law-abiding users to use privacy-enhancing software to cover their tracks on the Ethereum blockchain. What if OFAC similarly sanctioned one of Bitcoin’s decentralized […]
OFAC Around and Find Out – Lawfare
The cryptocurrency space has long hoped to emulate the business model of Uber: ignore the regulations until you can grow too big to regulate, a technique called “regulatory escape velocity.” With Uber, the primary tool was simply violating taxi regulations among thousands of independent municipalities and daring the local regulators to do something. With cryptocurrency, […]
Kraken, a U.S. Crypto Exchange, Is Suspected of Violating Sanctions – The New York Times
Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is under federal investigation, suspected of violating U.S. sanctions by allowing users in Iran and elsewhere to buy and sell digital tokens, according to five people affiliated with the company or with knowledge of the inquiry. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has been investigating […]
U.S. issues criminal charges in first cryptocurrency sanctions case – The Washington Post
In the ruling, the judge called cryptocurrency’s reputation for providing anonymity to users a myth. He added that while some legal experts argue that virtual moneys such as bitcoin, ethereum or Tether are not subject to U.S. sanctions laws because they are created and move outside the traditional financial system, recent action taken by the […]
U.S. Blacklists Mixer Used to Launder Proceeds from Axie Infinity Crypto Hack – WSJ
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on a virtual currency mixer it said North Korea used to help launder stolen virtual currency as part of the country’s malicious cyber activities program. The blacklisting of Blender.io marks the first time the Treasury has placed a cryptocurrency mixer on its sanctions list. Treasury’s Office of […]