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Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering

K2 Integrity

The Tornado Cash Delisting And Sanctions Compliance Implications For Crypto

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On 21 March 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer, from its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List),...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - March 2025 #2

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Executive Order Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Digital Asset Stockpile - On March 6, President Trump issued an executive order (EO), Establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The Wallet Inspectors: The DPRK’s Sophisticated Campaign to Steal Cryptocurrency and How to Protect Yourself

On February 21, 2025, Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, suffered a cyberattack resulting in the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in Ethereum tokens.  This attack marked a new pinnacle in the...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Crypto Executive Order: A New Era for Digital Assets

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President Trump’s crypto executive order (the Crypto Executive Order) was a first step in the Trump Administration’s articulation of a policy on promoting the lawful use of blockchain technology. It remains to be seen whether...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Crypto Week in Review - January 2025

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The Trump administration’s first week back in office was marked by a flurry of crypto-related activity among regulators, lawmakers, and the market itself....more

Bracewell LLP

Enforcement Trends 2025: Magic 8 Ball Says "Try Again Later"

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As the world prepares for the change of administration in January, current government officials and industry experts convened at the New York Forum on Economic Sanctions to reflect on enforcement trends in 2024, and to...more

White & Case LLP

The Shadow Financial System

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The concept of the shadow financial system rose to international prominence in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In an interview with a Pakistani newspaper a month later, Osama bin Laden stated that Al Qaeda were...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

U.S. Deploys Pincer Maneuver on Perceived Crypto Abuses

Crypto’s two calling cards, decentralization and anonymity, can lead to abuses, such as money laundering and tax evasion. The U.S. Treasury has long combatted crypto money laundering...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

CryptoLink - December 2023 Updates

On the one hand, the year ended where it began. The legislation on stabelecoins and market structure that would provide a regulatory framework for digital assets has still not been enacted into law. And Securities and...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

The Cryptocurrency Conundrum: Balancing Innovation with Terrorism Financing Risks

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Cryptocurrency, with its anonymity and decentralization, has revolutionized financial transactions. However, it has also opened doors for illicit activities, such as terrorist financing. Below we explore the role of...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Banking and Consumer Regulatory Digest - December 2023

Editor's Note - The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Understanding the DOJ’s Groundbreaking $4.3B Settlement with Foreign Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance.com

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On November 21, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed its criminal indictment against Binance.com (Binance), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao (CZ). The indictment against...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Binance’s Paper Compliance Program Crumples Under OFAC Scrutiny in Largest OFAC Settlement in History

On November 21, 2023, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its largest settlement in history with the virtual currency exchange Binance. This almost-billion dollar settlement is a part of a larger...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Binance Settles Criminal and Civil AML and Sanctions Enforcement Actions for Multiple Billions – While its Founder, Owner and...

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As the world now knows, Binance Holdings Limited, doing business as Binance.com (“Binance” or the “Company”), has entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”)....more

American Conference Institute (ACI)

[Event] 2nd Forum on Digital Assets Compliance: AML, Sanctions and Regulatory Oversight - October 17th - 18th, New York, NY

With so many new, emerging risks coming to the forefront, ACI is excited to announce our Digital Assets Compliance: AML, Sanctions and Regulatory Oversight. Unlike other conferences, this highly anticipated event stands apart...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

CryptoLink - August 2023 Updates

CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Court Victory for Treasury and Indictment of Tornado Cash Founders Highlights AML and Sanctions Risks for DeFi Crypto Platforms

In a long-awaited decision involving the cryptocurrency “mixer” Tornado Cash, a U.S. district court on August 17, 2023, upheld the broad authority of the Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury’s) Office of Foreign Assets...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Look at the Treasury Department’s April 2023 Report on Decentralized Finance or “DeFi”

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The report examines the vulnerabilities in DeFi, including potential gaps in the United States’ Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement regimes for DeFi. We first discuss how Treasury...more

White & Case LLP

Bitzlato Founder Charged With Facilitating Money Laundering of More than $700 Million in Dark Web Funds

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Anatoly Legkodymov, Russian founder of Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato Limited ("Bitzlato"), was arrested on January 17 based on an Amended Complaint filed by the Department of Justice ("DOJ") charging...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Why are Company Ransomware Payments Dropping Dramatically?

Companies are increasingly choosing not to pay ransom for ransomware and extortionware due to the growing associated risks. In fact, a recent report by crypto-crime analyst firm Chainalysis found that payments to threat...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Kraken Settlement Demonstrates Importance of Sanctions Monitoring for Transactions — Not Just When Onboarding Customers

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The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced (here and here) yesterday that virtual currency exchange Payward, Inc. – better known as Kraken – has agreed to pay $362,158.70 in order to settle its potential civil...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Potential BSA/AML Roadmap – Crypto Exchange Bittrex Enforcement Actions

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The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) settled enforcement actions with Washington state-based Bittrex. In the two settlements, Bittrex...more

McGlinchey Stafford

FinCEN and OFAC Issue First Joint Action in Cryptocurrency Market

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On October 11, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) acted in parallel to issue the first joint action in the cryptocurrency market against Bittrex. Bittrex...more

K2 Integrity

U.S. Authorities Amplify Enforcement Efforts to Address Financial Crime Risks in the Digital Asset Industry

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The United States Department of the Treasury has continued to signal that it will focus policy, regulatory, and enforcement attention on the financial crime and sanctions risk in the crypto and digital asset ecosystem...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

OFAC and FinCEN Settle with Bittrex in Regulators’ First Parallel Virtual Currency Enforcement Actions

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The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced on October 11 simultaneous settlements with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a virtual currency exchange and hosted...more

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