The crypto industry advocacy group has placed its support behind Coin Center and its lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury over its Tornado Cash sanctions.
Georgian central bank to launch AML probe into crypto firms
The National Bank of Georgia will launch mandatory supervision of virtual asset service providers starting from Sept. 1, 2023.
Should Russia Bolster or Ban Bitcoin?
The country reportedly backed out of plans to build a “national crypto exchange,” its latest sign of indecision.
Russia scraps plans for a national cryptocurrency exchange
Russia will continue to create new crypto platforms in response to sanctions, State Duma official Anatoly Aksakov said.
Lawyers Challenging U.S. Tornado Cash Sanctions Say Free Speech Is at Stake
Open source software isn’t property, and current sanctions laws are ill-equipped to handle this, lawyers argue.
U.S. Treasury Sanctions North Korean-Owned Binance Wallets; Says Entities Used Funds to Support WMD Programs
The Binance-hosted wallets received more than $2 million worth of various cryptocurrencies that were then sent on to North Korean entities, OFAC alleged
U.S. Sanctions Watchdog Alleges Russia-Linked Crypto Wallet Processed $5M
An Irish national helped wealthy Russians evade sanctions and hide money in UAE, OFAC alleged Friday.
IRS, Chainalysis and Ukraine Targeting Russian Crypto Sanctions Evaders Jointly
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service and crypto investigations company Chainalysis are working with Ukraine to target Russian oligarchs using crypto to evade sanctions.
Privacy Project Railgun DAO Adopts Chainway’s ‘Proof of Innocence’ Tool
Railgun DAO’s new functionality – initially developed by the developer Chainway for use on Tornado Cash – could allow users to mathematically demonstrate that coins involved in transactions did not come from blacklisted addresses. Digital Currency Group, owner of CoinDesk, is an investor in Railgun DAO.
China is developing AI without US chips: Here’s how
U.S. sanctions have limited China’s access to the latest chip technology to develop AI, but local companies are not letting this stop them.
US Justice Department investigating Binance for violating Russian sanctions: Report
The DOJ’s national security and crime divisions are both looking at the cryptocurrency exchange’s provision of services to Russians, Bloomberg reports.
U.S. Justice Department Investigating Binance For Russia-Related Sanctions Violations: Bloomberg
The United States Justice Department’s national security division is conducting an inquiry into whether Binance allowed the violation of U.S. sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on its platform, according to a Bloomberg report.
Poloniex will pay $7.6M settlement to US authorities for ‘apparent violations’ of sanctions
OFAC said Poloniex allowed users in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria to conduct digital asset trades, deposits and withdrawals between January 2014 and November 2019.
Crypto Exchange Poloniex Agrees to $7.6M Fee to Settle Sanctions Violation Charges
Crypto exchange Poloniex will remit $7.59 million to settle sanctions violations allegations with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the sanctions watchdog announced Monday.
U.S. Sanctions 3 North Koreans for Supporting Hacking Group Known for Crypto Thefts
The U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions watchdog banned three North Korean individuals for supporting the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking team known for crypto thefts.
Russia Plans to Mine Crypto for Cross-Border Deals, Says Central Bank
Bank of Russia is planning to allow mining and using cryptocurrencies for cross-border trade, the regulator said.
Belarus to decide on issuing CBDC by year’s end: National bank chair
Chairman of the Belarusian national bank Pavel Kallaur said a decision on a CBDC would be made “at the level of head of state” after consultations.
Russians Use Tether to Send Money to the West, Evading Sanctions and KYC – Transparency International
Russian banks may currently be cut off from the SWIFT international payments network. But, despite wide-ranging international sanctions against the Kremlin, money keeps flowing between Russia and the West, and a range of brokers are ready to turn Russian rubles into foreign currency abroad, in cash.
US REPO task force names crypto as target in efforts involving $58B in sanctioned assets
Members of the task force have worked to “counter Russian sanctions evasion”, which included illicit crypto transactions and money laundering schemes.
Crypto Crime Hit All-Time High of $20.6B in 2022: Chainalysis
Kim Grauer, the blockchain sleuthing firm’s head of research, told CoinDesk TV sanctioned activity and hacking were the driving forces behind the rise in illicit transaction volumes last year.