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Japan Looks to Stop Sanctioned Russian Entities From Transferring Crypto Assets
6.3.2022
As financial authorities around the world continue to target sanctioned Russian entities, regulators in Japan along with the country’s crypto association are attempting to find and close gaps that may be used to circumvent sanctions. The two bodies, however, have said they are not discussing...
Gaming Giant Animoca Brands Reveals Ban Against Russian Users, Co-Founder Compares Russia to North Korea
3.3.2022
Blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands has revealed the company is breaking ties with Russian users following the Ukraine invasion that started seven days ago. Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu noted in an interview that the company received legal advice about the situation and the Animoca executive...
Apple Pay and Google Pay to Become Unusable with Cards from Sanctioned Russian Banks
25.2.2022
Customers of five sanctioned Russian banks will be unable to use their cards to pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay, the central Bank of Russia, said.
The banks in question include banks under the VTB Group, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, and Otkritie, per the announcement. The banks...
Apple Pay to halt support for Russian banks sanctioned on war in Ukraine
25.2.2022
Russians cashed out over $1.3 billion from banks on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the largest amount since the onset of COVID-19
Cryptocurrency Theft Remains Key Revenue Source for North Korea, UN Report Says
6.2.2022
Cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges have been a major source of funds for North Korea in the past year, a United Nations report has unveiled. According to the document, the sanctioned nation has also been developing its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea Hits Cryptocurrency Exchanges...
Gitcoin Deactivates Grant for Farsi Speaking Communities Due to U.S. Sanctions
10.12.2021
Gitcoin, an organization that helps fund open source projects around the Ethereum blockchain, has deactivated a grant due to it being directed to individuals from a sanctioned country. The grant, called “Free Smart Contract Development Course for Farsi Speaking Communities,”...
New Crypto and Blockchain Association Launches in Iran
1.12.2021
A recently established crypto industry association in Iran has commenced activities under the country’s chamber of commerce. Its management hopes to help remove obstacles challenging its members while facilitating the implementation of blockchain technology in the sanctioned nation’s...
US Treasury Sanctions 2nd Cryptocurrency Exchange, DOJ Seizes $6.1 Million
9.11.2021
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a second cryptocurrency exchange “for facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors.” Two ransomware operators have also been sanctioned and $6.1 million in funds were seized. US Treasury Sanctions Another Cryptocurrency Exchange...
Russian Government to Track Crypto Transactions With Help From Anti-Drug Organization
4.11.2021
Russian institutions have responded to a call from а public movement for joint efforts to identify cryptocurrency transfers related to drug trade. The anti-drug organization, Stopnarkotik, recently asked the interior ministry and the central bank to investigate alleged connections between...
Sanctioned Russian oligarch urges central bank to embrace Bitcoin
21.10.2021
The U.S. Treasury asked cryptocurrency companies to ensure compliance with sanctions last week
Suex Founder Loses Top Job Over US Sanctions, Major Exchange, Payment Provider Implicated
26.9.2021
The scandal around sanctioned crypto broker Suex is growing in Russia where one of the co-founders of the OTC platform has been dismissed from his executive post at a bank. Meanwhile, an anti-drug organization has referred the case to the interior ministry and the central bank, asking authorities...
Blacklisted Suex Addresses Received Over $900 Million in Crypto, Report Reveals
23.9.2021
Cryptocurrency addresses allegedly used by Russian exchange Suex, recently placed under U.S. sanctions, have received more than $934 million in crypto assets, blockchain analysis suggests. According to the Treasury Department, over 40% of the platform’s transactions involved criminal actors....
US Treasury Targets Crypto Exchanges in Whole-of-Government Effort to Counter Ransomware
23.9.2021
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has taken actions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges “responsible for laundering ransoms” as part of the whole-of-government effort to counter ransomware. One cryptocurrency exchange has already been sanctioned along with related crypto addresses....
After Central Bank Devalues Naira by 5% Finance Minister Attributes Drop to ‘Market Forces’
14.6.2021
Nigerian Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has denied widespread reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had sanctioned the devaluation of the local currency sometime in May 2021. Instead, she attributes the naira’s fall to the “volatility in the oil price.” Ahmed’s...
US-Sanctioned Actors Use Crypto in New Ways to Evade Restrictions - Report
28.5.2021
Sanctioned actors and jurisdictions worldwide are finding new ways to use cryptoassets to evade restrictions and continue their illicit activities, per a recent report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
Some of the ways this is accomplished is using privacy coins, coinswap services, privacy...
Restrictions on Crypto Trading to Deprive Nation of Opportunities, Iranian Fintechs Warn
18.5.2021
Startups have spoken out against government attempts to curb the operations of crypto exchanges in Iran. Cryptocurrency trading is not illegal, Iranian fintechs insist, calling on lawmakers and regulators to develop rules that would allow the sanctioned country to continue to take advantage...
A Forex Broker Transfers 1,200 BTC Belonging to the Mirror Trading International to a South African Liquidator
1.4.2021
Fresh reports from South Africa suggest that a total of 1,200 bitcoins belonging to the now-defunct Mirror Trading International (MTI) were recently transferred from FX Choice to an appointed liquidator. The reports add the transfer had been sanctioned by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority...
Spanish Treasury Secretary Says Cryptocurrencies Carry a ‘Risk of Default’, Repeats Bank of Spain’s Lack of Regulation Rhetoric
17.2.2021
The government of Spain continues to harden its stance against widely adopting cryptocurrencies. The Spanish Secretary of State for the Economy recently expressed her concerns on risks that she thinks cryptos possess for the national economy. Secretary Doesn’t Like Bitcoin as It Cannot...
183 Violations: US Government Fines Bitgo for Allowing Users to Bypass Sanctions With Cryptocurrency
1.1.2021
The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control has fined Bitgo for failing to prevent users in sanctioned countries from using its crypto wallet service. The agency says Bitgo processed 183 cryptocurrency transactions that were “apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs.”...
US Sanctions Russians Allegedly Using Cryptocurrency to Influence Presidential Election
12.9.2020
The U.S. has sanctioned several Russian nationals, a Ukrainian lawmaker, and their cryptocurrency addresses for interfering with the country’s electoral process. The Russians are allegedly employees of a troll factory that previously targeted presidential candidates. Operations to Interfere...