Virtual Currency, Money Laundering, Cryptocurrency

Regulations On Virtual Assets To Counter Proliferation Financing And Prevent Money Laundering

Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal... on 2/17/2025

The advent and rise of cryptocurrency have been a disruptor to the traditional currency system. Even outside the virtual aspect of the currency, the concept is novel due to its accessibility and the level of anonymity...more

Weekly Blockchain Blog - December 2024 #3

BakerHostetler on 12/23/2024

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

Fifth Circuit Rejects OFAC Designation of Tornado Cash Immutable Smart Contracts

Ballard Spahr LLP on 12/6/2024

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

Weekly Blockchain Blog - November 2024 #3

BakerHostetler on 11/18/2024

Crypto Exchanges and Stablecoin Issuers Announce Multiple New Products - Multiple crypto sector companies have recently announced new products. In a press release, LayerZero, “an omnichain interoperability protocol that...more

Blockchain Analysis and Related Expert Testimony Admissible In Criminal Trial

Ballard Spahr LLP on 3/19/2024

It is challenging for law enforcement to track down and trace illicit activities conducted through digital currencies. The process can be very time- and resource-intensive. Further, securing charges and arrests, and...more

Hamas, Terrorist Financing, and Cryptocurrency

Ballard Spahr LLP on 12/8/2023

The October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas have re-focused U.S. government efforts to identify and counter funding streams for Hamas and terrorist activity in general – including, in particular, through the use of...more

OFAC Sanctions Crypto Mixer Following Allegations of Laundering Funds to North Korea

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 12/4/2023

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

FinCEN to Shed Light on Illicit Use of Virtual Currency Mixing Through Enhanced Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements

Troutman Pepper Locke on 11/29/2023

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that identifies international convertible virtual currency mixing as a class of...more

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

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 11/27/2023

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

FinCEN Releases Proposed Rule Designating CVC Mixing as a “Primary Money Laundering Concern”

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 11/8/2023

On October 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (proposed rule) addressing “mixing transactions” that involve convertible...more

Crypto Firms Launch New Initiatives; Whitepapers Address DeFi, Crypto Risks, CBDCs; OFAC Adds Crypto Addresses to SDN List...

BakerHostetler on 10/9/2023

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

FinCEN Issues Alert for Financial Institutions on Red Flags for “Pig Butchering” Schemes

Troutman Pepper Locke on 9/13/2023

On September 8, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury (FinCEN) issued an alert warning financial institutions to be vigilant against a prominent virtual currency investment scam called...more

In the First Use of Its Section 9714 Powers, the U.S. Treasury Designated Bitzlato as a Russian-Linked Primary Money Laundering...

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 2/7/2023

On January 17, 2023, U.S. law enforcement authorities in Miami arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and the founder and majority owner of Hong Kong-based virtual currency exchange Bitzlato Ltd., on charges of money...more

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

Ballard Spahr LLP on 11/30/2022

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

The North Korean Crypto Threat

K2 Integrity on 10/17/2022

Executive Summary - The North Korean threat to the crypto ecosystem is the highest form of immediate risk to the crypto-economy driven by a regime that seeks to profit from its misuse to reinforce its regime and fuel all its...more

Blockchain Game Developers and FinCEN: When are State Money Transmission Laws Applicable?

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 10/4/2022

The rising prevalence of crypto and virtual currencies has invited the scrutiny of several regulatory bodies who continue to grapple with the unique challenges posed by blockchain technology, FinCEN being one prime example....more

OFAC's Crackdown on Tornado Cash Protocol Raises Specter of Future Liability Concerns

Husch Blackwell LLP on 8/19/2022

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently made the unprecedented move of sanctioning a smart contract — a decentralized digital currency mixer called “Tornado Cash” — along with certain cryptocurrency addresses...more

Crypto Products Launch, Gain Approvals; OFAC Sanctions Crypto Mixer; SEC Publishes ICO Consent Order; Report Cites Criminal Use of...

BakerHostetler on 8/15/2022

NY DFS Approves Crypto Platform, Prepaid Crypto Card to Launch in Argentina - According to a press release this week, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) has authorized two subsidiaries of Zero...more

Virtual Currency › Money Laundering › Cryptocurrency