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US Senator Marco Rubio Warns BRICS Expansion Threatens Western Sanctions’ Effectiveness
23.1.2024
Florida Senator Marco Rubio expressed his worries about the increasing influence of BRICS, the international group, in the world’s economic system. According to Rubio, if the group keeps expanding, it will be a valid alternative to the current system, allowing nations to sway away from...
Venezuela Ends Controversial Petro Cryptocurrency: Reports
15.1.2024
Venezuela is ending its Petro cryptocurrency on Monday, more than five years after it was first launched, according to multiple reports
New EU Sanctions Package Preclude Russians From Owning Crypto Companies
21.12.2023
The European Union said Russian nationals from owning or controlling crypto service providers under the bloc’s twelfth package of restrictive measures against the country. According to the EU, diamonds entering its will now have to be traced from “the mine to the finger” and this...
Crypto Exchange Bitzlato Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to U.S. Money Transmitter Charge
6.12.2023
Anatoly Legkodymov, a co-founder of Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitzlato, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitter. Bitzlato was sanctioned by the U.S government in January
Ethereum’s Decentralization Questioned as Block Builders Censor Transactions Tied to US Sanctions
6.12.2023
Censorship is on the rise in Ethereum as key players block transactions tied to US sanctions, undermining its decentralized ethos. Image by Kerem Goktug Kaya, DALL-E 3. A pillar of Ethereum’s original vision was decentralization—the idea that its blockchain would operate outside constraints...
Report: Spanish Police Arrest Man Accused of Conspiring With Jailed Ethereum Developer to Evade US Sanctions
4.12.2023
Spanish law enforcement said on Dec. 1 it arrested a man accused by the U.S. of conspiring with Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith to help North Korea evade sanctions. A Spanish judge released the man who has since denied the allegations. Cao de Benos Released Without Conditions The Spanish police...
Treasury Asks Congress for More Authorities to Go After Illicit Actors in Digital Asset Space
1.12.2023
The U.S. deputy secretary of the Treasury has revealed that the Treasury Department has asked Congress for more tools and authorities “to go after illicit actors in the digital asset space.” Moreover, he stressed: “We need to update our illicit finance authorities to match...
US Deputy Treasury Secretary calls for additional tools to sanction crypto firms
29.11.2023
Wally Adeyemo cited a recent settlement with crypto exchange Binance and sanctions against crypto mixer Sinbad in calling for an expansion of the U.S. Treasury’s authority
U.S. Treasury Campaigning for Amplified Powers to Chase Crypto Overseas
29.11.2023
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is pressing lawmakers for a new set of powers that would give the government unprecedented enforcement and sanctions authority over the crypto sector, including the ability to roam well beyond American borders and get involved with transactions that don't involve...
US Treasury sanctions crypto mixer Sinbad, alleging North Korea ties
29.11.2023
The government department has previously imposed sanctions on crypto mixers Blender and Tornado Cash despite many in the space pushing back on actions against software tools
Crypto Mixer Sanctioned by U.S. Treasury for North Korea Allegations, as FBI, Dutch and Finnish Police Seize Website
29.11.2023
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control listed two crypto addresses tied to Sinbad, a mixing service, in its latest sanctions list
Economist Steve Hanke: US Dollar Weaponization Has Powered Record Central Bank Gold Purchases
28.11.2023
Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, has discussed how U.S. policies have driven central bank gold purchases to record levels this year. In an interview, Hanke stated that these purchases were motivated by the weaponization of fiat currencies like the dollar...
Bitcoin's Anti-Censorship Ethos Surfaces After Mining Pool F2Pool Acknowledges 'Filter'
22.11.2023
After a blockchain sleuth reported that the Bitcoin mining pool may have censored a transaction from an address blacklisted by U.S. authorities, critics responded, and so did the project's co-founder
Blockchain Association Sues OFAC Over Sanctions on Tornado Cash
21.11.2023
Source: US Department of Treasury Blockchain Association, the crypto advocacy group, has filed an amicus brief with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The Association has criticized the agency’s decision to sanction crypto mixer Tornado Cash, pointing out the regulatory repercussions....
Here’s How Russians Dodge Sanctions to Use Int’l Crypto Exchanges
16.11.2023
Russian crypto holders have reportedly used simple workarounds to evade sanctions – and trade on overseas crypto exchanges. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, Western leaders have imposed sanctions on most leading Russian banks. Account holders at these banks, thus, are effectively blocked from...
Tornado Cash users file appeal over judgment in favor of US Treasury
14.11.2023
The six individuals, supported by crypto exchange Coinbase, have taken a case involving the U.S. Treasury sanctioning Tornado Cash to federal appellate court
US and Allies to Intensify Sanctions Against Hamas, Targeting Crypto Assets to Cut Funding
10.11.2023
Source: Adobe Stock/ sveta The United States and its allies are set to escalate sanctions against the militant group Hamas in the coming days. According to the U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, more actions will be taken in the coming days and weeks to cut funding channels to Hamas...
OFAC Sanctions Russian National Accused of Using Virtual Currency to Launder Money
5.11.2023
According to the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova has been sanctioned as punishment for using virtual currency to launder money for designated Russian elites. OFAC said Zhdanova’s properties and interests in the United States are now either...
Web3 Protocol WalletConnect Halts Services in Russia, Following US Treasury Guidelines
1.11.2023
Web3 platform WalletConnect, which links cryptocurrency wallets, has restricted its services in Russia, in light of the latest US Guidelines. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) unveiled sanctions in Russia and a few parts of Ukraine. The restrictions came into effect...
US Treasury Deputy Secretary: Crypto Not Major Source of Funding for Terrorists
30.10.2023
U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo says crypto is not the vast majority of the ways terrorist groups are funded, noting that these organizations “continued to use the traditional banking system.” His statements followed media reports claiming that Hamas raised a large sum...