Crypto exchange Bitmex has pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program, resulting in the company being a vehicle for large-scale money laundering. The DOJ announced this plea following previous legal actions and settlements. Bitmex says: “We have accepted the BSA charge, will seek…
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Two U.S. senators have criticized the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s new interpretation of “money transmission,” which extends requirements to non-custodial software, citing concerns over its impact on crypto networks and financial innovation. “I’m concerned the DOJ’s interpretation would treat software developers as criminals for merely writing and publishing code used by others,” one of the…
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The Blockchain Integrity Act, a piece of legislation that seeks to put a 2-year moratorium on using cryptocurrency mixers, was introduced by U.S. Congressman Sean Casten on March 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Co-sponsored by Reps. Bill Foster, Brad Sherman, and Emanuel Cleaver, the bill proposes to conduct a study on the issue…
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about using unregistered cryptocurrency money transmitting services that fail to comply with U.S. anti-money laundering laws. The agency has provided tips for the public to protect themselves, advising them to avoid providers that do not require Know Your Customer (KYC) information. FBI’s Crypto Warning The…
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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released an analysis that reports an alleged increase in the use of cryptocurrency in human trafficking cases. According to FinCEN, reports of cryptocurrency linked to these purposes grew from 336 in 2020 to 1,975 in 2021, an increase of almost 500%. FinCEN Alerts of Crypto Usage Linked to…
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A paper prepared by two Polygon Labs executives and a former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) director presents a framework to combat illicit activity in decentralized finance (defi) markets. The document proposes three different classes for defi platforms, including platforms controlled by centralized actors, genuine defi systems, and critical communication transmitters, describing the level of…
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Samourai Wallet, River, Strike, Swan, and other companies in the cryptocurrency space have sent a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), commenting on the proposed rules over mixing transactions introduced in October. These companies are asking FinCEN to withdraw its proposal because it considers it inadequate for many reasons, criticizing it for being…
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Source: iStock Swan Bitcoin, a California-based Bitcoin services platform, announced recently that it would terminate accounts of users directly interacting with mixing services. In a statement released over the weekend, Bitcoin-only accumulation platform Swan issued a warning to users engaging with Bitcoin mixing services, cautioning them that their accounts may face termination due to increased…
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Swan Bitcoin, a bitcoin exchange platform, announced recently that it would terminate accounts of users directly interacting with mixing services. The company explained that this was due to the pressure from banking institutions after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) presented a proposal to increase the bookkeeping requirements on these transactions. Swan Bitcoin Announces New…
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The Campaign for Accountability wanted to let the anti-crypto senators know that the threat of terrorist financing with crypto was worse than they thought. Nonprofit ethics group Campaign for Accountability (CfA) sent a letter to U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown on Nov. 9 to present them with information on the alleged use of…
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