On March 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed an indictment against prominent cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang. The DOJ charged the exchange and its founders...more
On March 5, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and a corresponding cease-and-desist order (the “Order”) with ShapeShift AG, a cryptocurrency exchange registered in Switzerland that...more
On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and a related cease-and-desist order (the “Order”) against TradeStation Crypto, Inc. (“TradeStation”) for failing to register the...more
2/28/2024
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Platforms ,
Digital Wallets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Fines ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Platforms ,
NASAA ,
Offerings ,
Penalties ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
On December 23, 2023, BarnBridge DAO (“BarnBridge”) and its founders, Tayler Ward and Troy Murray, agreed to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). BarnBridge violated Sections5(a) and 5(c)...more
2/1/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Products ,
Popular ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Structured Financial Products
On December 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced an enforcement action against CoinList Markets LLC (“CoinList”) for violations of the Ukraine-/Russia-Related...more
12/19/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Crimea ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
Binance’s $4.3 billion fine is one of the largest penalties the DOJ has ever obtained from a corporate defendant. Furthermore, its founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) was also personally subject to a fine, amounting to...more
12/14/2023
/ BSA/AML ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Money Transmitter ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
Binance’s settlement with the DOJ represents one of the largest criminal corporate enforcement actions ever. A review of the facts reveals that the penalty is likely warranted, as the misconduct was driven from the very...more
12/13/2023
/ BSA/AML ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Transmitter ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
On November 21, 2023, The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced settlement agreements with Binance Holdings Limited (“Binance”), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Changpeng Zhao (affectionally known as...more
12/12/2023
/ BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Guilty Pleas ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Transmitter ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
On November 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought charges against cryptocurrency project SafeMoon LLC and its U.S. subsidiary SafeMoon US LLC, along with...more
11/17/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins the podcast to review the recent Ripple decision by District Judge Torres at the Southern District of New York and the recent indictment of Celsius Networks' CEO.
On...more
On June 6, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) officially filed suit against Coinbase, Inc. (“Coinbase”) alleging the company operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing...more
In a complaint filed June 5, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is suing the world’s larged cryptocurrency exchange – Binance Holdings Ltd. (“Binance”), BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”), BAM...more
On Wednesday, January 18, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York charging Russian-national Anatoly Legkodymov, a senior executive at Bitzlato Ltd....more
On top of all the legal trouble for FTX’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), the company has also filed for bankruptcy and SBF has been ousted as CEO. John J. Ray III, an attorney and bankruptcy professional, has...more
12/22/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disbursement Issues ,
Financial Statements ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Trading Platforms
The cryptocurrency world is in shock watching the events unfold around the stunning collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. The exchange seemed untouchable just days before everything fell apart. ...more
On October 11, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced settlement agreements with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a cryptocurrency exchange based in...more
Continuing with both its crackdown on cybercriminals and illicit digital marketplaces, along with its continued economic pressure on the Russian Federation, OFAC has sanctioned two entities that fit both criteria. On April...more
4/13/2022
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Darknet ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Military Conflict ,
Money Services Business ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency
In early October, U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the creation of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”). The NCET will handle the Department’s investigations...more
11/12/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Enforcement Strike Teams ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Government Investigations ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
In early October, OFAC released a guidance brochure on sanctions compliance, specifically tailored for the cryptocurrency and virtual assets industry. For seasoned compliance veterans, it ends up reading like a refresher...more
The crypto industry is abuzz with a recent scandal involving OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the industry (for those not in the know, NFT stands for non-fungible token, and the most common use case at the moment is to...more
With the rise of digital currencies, it was inevitably going to attract the attention of governments. Not just in the regulatory sense, but also in terms of utilization. The blockchain technology underlying these virtual...more
On Friday March 12, Bloomberg News reported that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has opened an inquiry into Binance Holdings Ltd. (“Binance”) to investigate allegations that the exchange allowed US citizens...more
3/16/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
Know Your Customers ,
Popular ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
In late February, the New York Attorney General’s office (“NYAG”) settled with Bitfinex and Tether stemming from charges relating to financial mismanagement. The NYAG alleged that Bitfinex and Tether attempted to cover up...more
3/15/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Mismanagement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
On Monday, Ripple Labs, Inc.; Brad Garlinghouse, CEO; Christian Larsen, board chairman; and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a joint letter with Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New...more
Following the SEC’s December filing, Ripple Labs, Inc. has now responded and taken its first steps to defend itself against the allegations. Ripple’s first move was to file FOIA request with the SEC to obtain the information...more