Crypto Crime news and trends

Unregistered Crypto ATMs Lead to Landmark UK Prosecution 
Legal // September 10, 2024

A British regulator has charged a London man for operating several unlicensed crypto ATMs. Olumide Osunkoya, 45, has been charged with a running series of unlicensed machines that let users purchase cryptocurrency or convert money into crypto assets, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Tuesday...

Treasury: ‘Malign Actors’ Use Crypto to Get Around Regulators
Cryptocurrency // April 10, 2024

Cryptocurrency is increasingly becoming a safe haven for “malign actors” such as terror groups. That’s according to testimony Tuesday (April 9) by U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo, who spoke before the Senate Banking Committee. “Our problem is that actors are increasingly finding ways to...

US Imposes Sanctions on 13 Russia-Linked Crypto FinTechs
Cryptocurrency // March 26, 2024

The U.S. has sanctioned 13 Russia-linked FinTechs for allegedly using cryptocurrency to evade bans. “Russia is increasingly turning to alternative payment mechanisms to circumvent U.S. sanctions and continue to fund its war against Ukraine,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence,...

Chainalysis: Crypto Money Laundering Plummets as Transactions Fall
Cryptocurrency // February 18, 2024

Reduced cryptocurrency activity last year helped lead to a corresponding decline in crypto money laundering. That’s according to a recent report on crypto crime from blockchain data firm Chainalysis, which showed that illicit addresses sent $22.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency to services in 2023, a sharp drop...

Interviews & Exclusives
Chainalysis Says Data and Smart Regulation Critical for Crypto Rehabilitation

March 14, 2023
The year 2022 was one of the most tumultuous in the cryptocurrency industry’s brief history. It was a record year for another reason, too, as illicit crypto transactions hit a second consecutive all-time high, reaching $20.6 billion, compared to the sector’s previous high of $18.1 billion in 2021. But it’s not all bad news, said […]

Bad News for Fraudsters as US Boosts Crypto-Crime Toolkit

January 30, 2023
The U.S. Treasury Department is flexing its cryptocurrency enforcement muscles as industry attention grows. The turbulent crypto sector has historically suffered from the perception that its anonymous and decentralized technical...

Quick Reads
Bankman-Fried Says ‘Rush to Judgment’ Prevented Fair Trial

September 15, 2024
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried wants a new trial, arguing a federal judge hamstrung his defense. Attorneys for the disgraced cryptocurrency CEO contend that “everyone rushed to judgment” after FTX’s implosion and that fair-trial principles were wiped out in a “sentence first-verdict afterwards tsunami,” Bloomberg News reported Friday (Sept. 13), citing court records. “When the government […]

Unregistered Crypto ATMs Lead to Landmark UK Prosecution 

September 10, 2024
A British regulator has charged a London man for operating several unlicensed crypto ATMs. Olumide Osunkoya, 45, has been charged with a running series of unlicensed machines that let users...

Treasury: ‘Malign Actors’ Use Crypto to Get Around Regulators

April 10, 2024
Cryptocurrency is increasingly becoming a safe haven for “malign actors” such as terror groups. That’s according to testimony Tuesday (April 9) by U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo, who spoke...

US Imposes Sanctions on 13 Russia-Linked Crypto FinTechs

March 26, 2024
The U.S. has sanctioned 13 Russia-linked FinTechs for allegedly using cryptocurrency to evade bans. “Russia is increasingly turning to alternative payment mechanisms to circumvent U.S. sanctions and continue to fund...