enforcement

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform that Coinbase is proud to collaborate with law enforcement to combat crime. Its investigation team identified an ongoing criminal activity and used blockchain forensics to track down the criminals, ultimately leading to 5 convictions.

According to The Information, Michael Selig, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is working to limit state enforcement interventions on prediction markets to prevent state-level regulatory measures from hindering industry development.Since taking office several months ago, Michael Selig has been trying to create a more lenient federal regulatory environment for prediction markets, allowing more American users to participate in trading on sports events and other outcomes. Over the past year, Selig has consistently advocated for prediction markets—issuing a warning in February about suing state governments attempting to intervene in regulation, releasing compliance guidelines in March and publicly soliciting industry feedback, and stating this month that if prediction markets are pushed offshore, it would lead to a repeat of the FTX-style collapse.

Web3 security company CertiK released the report "2026 Digital Asset Regulatory Status," systematically outlining global regulatory trends. The report indicates that by 2026, the regulatory frameworks in major jurisdictions will have basically been established, and the industry is entering a phase of full compliance. The report shows that anti-money laundering enforcement has replaced the definition of securities attributes as the primary regulatory risk, with global anti-money laundering-related fines exceeding $900 million in the first half of 2025, and transaction monitoring capabilities becoming a core compliance requirement.At the same time, smart contract security audits are evolving from industry best practices to entry requirements, becoming essential for license approval and token listings. Additionally, global stablecoin regulatory frameworks are becoming more consistent, generally establishing principles such as full reserves and licensed issuance; however, differences in cross-jurisdictional regulation still pose compliance challenges. The report points out that with regulatory convergence and strengthened enforcement, the industry has entered the "strong compliance era." CertiK states that the core issue facing enterprises is shifting from "Are we compliant?" to "Can we quickly build and implement compliance capabilities?" Licensing in multiple regions, investments in anti-money laundering, and ongoing security audits are becoming the foundational thresholds for institutional development.

According to Jinshi reports, Trump stated that the Secret Service and law enforcement did an excellent job. They responded quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I suggest we "continue with the speech," but will fully comply with law enforcement's instructions. They (the dinner staff) will make a decision soon. Whatever that decision is, tonight's event will be very different from the plan, and we will have to do it again.

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced a reward of up to $4 million under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest of Daren Li, who assisted various scam centers in Southeast Asia in laundering their proceeds.According to court documents, Daren Li laundered funds obtained from victims through cryptocurrency scams and related fraudulent means, instructing accomplices to open U.S. bank accounts in the name of shell companies, and monitored the interstate and international wire transfers of victim funds. At least $73.6 million of victim funds were directly deposited into bank accounts associated with him and his accomplices, including at least $59.8 million from U.S. shell companies involved in laundering the proceeds obtained from defrauded victims.

According to Decrypt, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (a senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee) wrote to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, stating that he may have "deliberately misled" Congress regarding the decline in the number of new enforcement actions by the SEC during a hearing, and pointed out that if there are significant false statements made to Congress, it could involve criminal liability.The report cites enforcement data disclosed by the SEC for 2025, stating that the SEC added a total of 456 new enforcement actions last year, of which about 200 were from the previous administration, and approximately 256 were added during the current administration, significantly lower than the average of about 765 per year over the past decade. Warren believes that the sharp decline in enforcement actions, staff reductions, and sudden leadership changes may weaken the SEC's ability to protect investors and maintain market order, and questions whether there is political favoritism and selective enforcement. The SEC declined to comment on this.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice submitted documents to a federal court on Tuesday, requesting to block Arizona from applying its gambling laws to the prediction market operator Kalshi.Federal regulators argue that contracts linked to sports events, elections, and other real-world events fall under a financial derivative known as "swaps," which should be subject to federal regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act, rather than governed by state gambling laws. Arizona had previously filed criminal charges against Kalshi under state gambling laws, with a hearing scheduled for April 13.The federal appeals court in New Jersey had previously ruled in favor of Kalshi, determining that its sports contracts are presumed legal under federal law in the absence of CFTC intervention, but courts in other jurisdictions have allowed state-level enforcement actions to proceed. If the court ultimately accepts the CFTC's position, prediction markets could operate nationwide under a unified federal framework.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointment of David Woodcock as the new head of the enforcement division, succeeding the previous director who has stepped down.Woodcock previously served as the director of the SEC's Fort Worth office (2011--2015), overseeing enforcement attorneys, examiners, and accounting teams, and participated in investigations across nearly all major enforcement areas. Recently, he was a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn. Notably, Woodcock does not have a clear background in the cryptocurrency industry, and this appointment comes at a time when the SEC is facing controversy over its enforcement direction in the crypto space. Previously, disagreements over case handling and enforcement standards led to a short tenure for the former director and drew congressional attention. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that this appointment will help strengthen the crackdown on "misconduct that causes the greatest harm to investors."

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making significant adjustments to its enforcement strategy in the cryptocurrency sector for the fiscal year 2025. The SEC has successively withdrawn seven cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions initiated by the previous commission, involving institutions such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Cumberland DRW, Consensys, Dragonchain, and Balina, on the grounds that these cases lack sufficient federal securities law basis.At the same time, the SEC has established a Cyber and Emerging Technologies Division, focusing on combating violations of securities trading related to blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. In terms of specific enforcement actions, the SEC has filed lawsuits against the following cases: New York cryptocurrency company Unicoin and its four executives for allegedly making false statements to mislead investors; PGI Global founder Ramil Palafox for allegedly orchestrating a cryptocurrency and forex fraud scheme amounting to $198 million and misappropriating over $57 million; and the founder of AI company Nate, Inc. for allegedly raising over $42 million illegally through false advertising of artificial intelligence capabilities.

According to CoinDesk, President Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her position and appointed his former personal lawyer, current Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, as acting Attorney General. Blanche previously represented Trump in handling criminal cases in New York, and after taking office as Deputy Attorney General, he ordered the dissolution of the Justice Department's national cryptocurrency enforcement team and signed a memorandum instructing prosecutors not to pursue regulatory violation cases in the cryptocurrency industry.According to disclosed documents, Blanche held various cryptocurrencies valued between approximately $159,000 and $485,000 when he signed the enforcement memorandum, including Bitcoin, Solana, Cardano, Ethereum, Polygon, Polkadot, Quant, and Coinbase stock, violating ethical rules and his prior commitment to divest assets before handling cryptocurrency-related matters.

According to Bloomberg, David Miller, the enforcement director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated at a seminar at New York University on Tuesday that the agency will use its existing enforcement authority to combat insider trading in prediction markets.David Miller pointed out that there is a misunderstanding in mainstream media and social media that laws related to insider trading do not apply to prediction markets, and he clearly stated that this view is incorrect.

According to CoinDesk, blockchain analytics company TRM Labs has launched an AI agent tool for law enforcement agencies, embedded in its TRM Forensics service, which can convert natural language instructions into complex investigative operations, helping investigators track illegal cryptocurrency transactions.Users do not need to have a high technical threshold to query fund flow information, speeding up the pursuit of criminals.

According to CriptoNoticias, the National Anti-Drug Secretariat of Paraguay (Senad) held a seminar titled "Dismantling Criminal and Terrorist Financial Networks" at the Sheraton Hotel in Asunción in collaboration with the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative and the Higher Institute of the Prosecutor's Office. The aim was to enhance the technical capabilities of law enforcement personnel in identifying and combating criminal organizations that use Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies for money concealment.The seminar focused on analyzing the trend of transnational criminal networks in the tri-border area moving towards digitalization and involved the "Trapiche Operation" case related to financing networks associated with Hezbollah. General Mirko Sokol, the Commander of the Bolivian Police, revealed at the meeting that after the arrest of Uruguayan drug lord Sebastián Marset, no large amounts of cash were found at his residence, and related transactions were primarily conducted through cryptocurrencies.The Paraguayan Tax Authority (DNIT) issued Resolution No. 47/26 on March 11, requiring cryptocurrency trading platforms to report detailed information on each transaction, including wallet addresses, the networks used, and transaction hash values.

According to the official blog, Binance, in collaboration with INTERPOL, AFRIPOL, and law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries, launched the "Red Card 2.0" operation to combat high-yield investment scams, mobile payment fraud, and fraudulent loan applications.During the approximately 8-week operation, police arrested a total of 651 suspects, seized 1,442 malicious IPs/domains/servers and related equipment, and recovered over 4.3 million dollars in funds. The investigation revealed total associated losses exceeding 45 million dollars, confirming 1,247 victims.

According to the official blog, Binance, in collaboration with INTERPOL, AFRIPOL, and law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries, launched "Operation Red Card 2" to combat high-yield investment scams, mobile payment fraud, and fraudulent loan applications.During the approximately 8-week operation, police arrested a total of 651 suspects, seized 1,442 malicious IPs/domains/servers and related equipment, and recovered over 4.3 million dollars in funds. The investigation revealed total associated losses exceeding 45 million dollars, confirming 1,247 victims.

According to The Block, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig announced the appointment of David Miller as the head of the agency's enforcement division.Miller previously served as a federal prosecutor and has extensive experience in digital asset cases in the private sector. This appointment comes as the CFTC is preparing to play a more significant role in regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Miller stated, "I am honored to join the CFTC during this exciting time of transformation." Selig emphasized that Miller will focus on "combating fraud, abuse, and manipulation, rather than policy-making."

The CFTC Chairman has appointed former federal prosecutor and private practice attorney David Miller to lead the agency's enforcement division.David Miller previously served as a litigation partner at Greenberg Traurig and Morgan Lewis, focusing on commodities, securities, digital assets, and national security, and he has also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. Michael Selig stated that David Miller will be dedicated to combating fraud, abuse, and manipulation, rather than formulating policy. Currently, Washington lawmakers are pushing to grant the CFTC broader jurisdiction over the cryptocurrency industry.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Monday that former prosecutor David Miller will become the agency's chief enforcement officer. This move comes as the CFTC is preparing to strengthen its oversight of cryptocurrency and prediction markets.As the new enforcement chief of the CFTC, Miller will be responsible for leading the agency's regulatory enforcement efforts in the digital asset space.

According to a report by Hong Kong media Orange News, the President of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association, Chen Zhi-hua, disclosed that the Hong Kong virtual asset industry is facing a sudden "compliance storm." Practitioners in related businesses have reported encountering bewildering regulatory requirements during the application process for virtual asset-related business qualifications. The existing written policy requires an additional 5 hours of Continuing Professional Training (CPT).However, the latest requirements were not issued through formal written documents or public guidelines, but were communicated "quietly" to license upgrade applicants in the form of verbal notifications or individual emails, stating that all responsible officers (RO) for relevant license upgrades, including those who have already obtained upgrade qualifications, must pass a virtual asset regulation exam conducted by a designated single institution. This nearly "invisible" directive undermines the transparency and fairness that regulatory agencies should uphold.Chen Zhi-hua suggested maintaining the original requirement of an additional 5 hours of Continuing Professional Training (CPT) and urged regulatory agencies to immediately suspend the enforcement of exam requirements through invisible policies.

Binance co-founder He Yi responded on platform X to the news that "Binance employees were fired for discovering transactions related to Iran," stating that compliance staff need to handle various types of cases in their actual work. In recent years, Binance has proactively initiated multiple investigations related to potential crimes and has handed over the results to law enforcement agencies, while also assisting users in avoiding potential fraud and financial losses through risk control and compliance measures.In the face of a constantly changing regulatory environment and new types of financial crime, the company's compliance system still needs to be continuously upgraded and optimized. He also expressed gratitude to former employees who participated in the company's compliance efforts and emphasized that as the company continues to promote higher standards of compliance, it may not be possible to satisfy everyone during the execution process. However, Binance will continue to invest resources and bring in more compliance professionals with specialized backgrounds and law enforcement collaboration experience to enhance overall risk identification, investigation, and resolution capabilities.