Navigating 2025: Trends in OFAC and DOJ Enforcement for Digital Assets — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Virtual Currency Regulations: Key Insights for the Payments Industry — Payments Pros – The Payments Law Podcast
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 54 - The Flaws of FARA: Feeble Oversight of Billions in Foreign Influence
Episode 352 -- Review of 2024 DOJ and SEC Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance
Unpacking the Fifth Circuit's Landmark Tornado Cash Decision — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
The Justice Insiders Podcast - The Ever-Expanding Net: Corporate Compliance in an Era of Increasing Trade Sanctions and Restrictions
Episode 328 -- Sanctions Enforcement Risks and Redlines
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: Third-Party Risks and Sanctions Compliance
Episode 324 -- Third-Party Risks and Sanctions Compliance
Will Resiliency Carry the Digital Asset Sector Through 2024: Federal Legislative Developments and OFAC Consent Orders — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Corruption, Crime & Compliance: Deep Dive into SCG Plastics’ $20 Million Settlement with OFAC to Resolve Violations of Iran Sanctions Program
Episode 319 -- Deep Dive into SCG Plastics' $20 Million Settlement with OFAC for Violations of the Iran Sanctions Program
Wiley's 10 Key Trade Developments: Evolution of Export Controls
Wiley’s Top 10 Trade Developments: Heightened Sanctions and Export Control Enforcement
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: Trade Compliance Trends and Expectations with Gabrielle Griffith
Episode 308 -- Gabrielle Griffith, Director BPE Global, on Trade Compliance
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: DOJ and OFAC Sanctions Enforcement Review for 2023
Episode 307 -- Sanctions Enforcement Review and Predictions for 2024
Episode 302 -- Matt Stankiewicz on DOJ's Massive Criminal Settlement with Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao
Episode 294 -- Catch Up on OFAC Enforcement: 3M and Emigrant Bank
On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) officially lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash, the decentralized cryptocurrency mixer it had blacklisted in August 2022....more
We find ourselves in the midst of a raucous debate among sanctions practitioners about the impact of the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision upholding a challenge against the sanctions the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)...more
Digital Asset Companies Achieve Licenses, Launch Stablecoin Products - According to a recent press release, Anchorage Digital, a digital asset platform and infrastructure provider, announced that the New York State...more
Shortly before Thanksgiving, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) did not have the authority to sanction Tornado Cash, which offers a...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates the stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
On November 26, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against a decentralized cryptocurrency mixing service (a...more
In a closely watched and complicated case, Van Loon et al. v. Dep’t of the Treasury et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) cannot sanction Tornado...more
On November 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury that invalidated economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) on...more
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
U.S. Companies Announce Crypto Cashback and NFT Ticketing Initiatives - According to recent reports, a major U.S. credit card company has partnered with Swoo, a mobile wallet blending traditional and crypto payments, to...more
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
The U.S. authorities are increasingly taking actions against big-name crypto mixers for potential violations of sanctions regulations. On November 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
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
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
Crypto Firms Continue to Launch New Initiatives Across Markets - In a recent press release, digital asset infrastructure firm Fireblocks announced its acquisition of BlockFold, “a smart contract development and...more
In two prior posts, this blog tracked the ongoing intrigue of how the various branches of the United States government interact with blockchain and cryptocurrency organizations. We discussed the Wyoming law allowing...more
District Court Upholds Tornado Cash Sanctions, DOJ Charges Founders - On August 17, a Texas federal court found that Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer (which obscures the source of crypto transactions) is an entity that can be...more
ETH Staking Data Published, USDC Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol Launches - New data reflects that the recent amount of staking withdrawals on Ethereum has been balanced by a roughly equal amount of deposits. According to...more
Cryptocurrencies have been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Their values have plummeted leaving investors out of pocket. Exchanges, lenders, and other entities in the crypto ecosystem have gone bust. Numerous...more
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
Despite the minimal regulatory enforcement actions against blockchain game companies and NFT issuers, now is NOT the time to become complacent about regulatory issues. As indicated below, many U.S. agencies are increasing...more
On November 28, 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to pay $362,158.70 to settle charges relating to its...more
New Research and Surveys Address CBDCs, Institutional Crypto Investment - Staff from the board of governors of the U.S. central bank recently published a research paper addressing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)....more
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
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced settlements with Bittrex Inc. (Bittrex). The settlements arise from violations of...more