enforcement

According to Bitcoin.com, the European Cybercrime Centre recently led a joint operation codenamed "Endgame," which was the result of collaboration among law enforcement agencies from Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.These agencies jointly targeted the network infrastructure that provided services to criminals, utilizing three key types of "cybercrime-as-a-service" (CaaS) malware: SocGholish, Amadey, and StealC, to collect victims' information and sensitive data.Law enforcement agencies took action against a total of 326 servers and 142 domain names, seizing illegal cryptocurrency worth approximately $47 million and recovering over 27 million stolen credentials.

The National Association of Attorneys General, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Sheriffs' Association jointly sent a letter to the Department of Justice and the White House on Tuesday, warning that Section 604 of the Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act contains serious enforcement loopholes that could make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute crypto-related criminal activities. The letter pointed out that Section 604 includes broad exemption clauses that may allow individuals or entities assisting in the circulation of crypto assets to evade regulatory accountability, disrupting the investigative and enforcement powers that have long been relied upon.The four organizations emphasized that their concerns are not aimed at developers who simply write or publish software code, but rather at the broad exemptions that may provide a shield for illegal activities. The core of the controversy lies in Section 604—the "Blockchain Regulatory Clarity Act" (BRCA) provision, which was originally a standalone bill but was later incorporated into the Clarity Act, aimed at providing a safe harbor for non-custodial developers, clarifying that they do not fall under money transmission entities. Law enforcement organizations believe this move will create obstacles for investigations into crypto crimes.Additionally, the letter pointed out that several other provisions of the bill would "reduce transparency, weaken accountability mechanisms, and create loopholes in the anti-money laundering framework." On the same day, nearly a hundred Catholic leaders representing parishes across the country also issued a warning, stating that the bill could weaken protections against human trafficking. In response, White House cryptocurrency advisor Patrick Harker insisted that the Clarity Act is a bill that "supports regulation and supports law enforcement," emphasizing that the U.S. must proactively set standards or risk passively accepting the rules of other countries.

According to Newsis, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea has referred about 40 unregistered virtual asset service providers to law enforcement agencies for action. The report points out that these unregistered companies are not subject to the South Korean "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" and the "Specific Financial Transaction Information Reporting and Use Act," and therefore face risks such as personal data breaches and hacking attacks, and may also be used for money laundering and concealing criminal funds.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India has submitted a charge sheet to the PMLA special court in Dwarka, New Delhi, formally accusing Chirag Tomar and his accomplices of participating in a cryptocurrency phishing scam worth approximately $20 million. Investigations reveal that the gang executed attacks by hijacking SEO related to a counterfeit "Coinbase Pro" phishing website, luring users to input account information and further deceiving them into providing 2FA verification, thereby remotely transferring the victims' crypto assets. The funds were subsequently split into thousands of wallets and laundered through P2P transactions with local trading platforms. The case is coordinated with U.S. federal law enforcement actions.Previously, Tomar was arrested by the FBI in the U.S. and sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Indian ED stated that it has obtained key evidence through international judicial cooperation and has frozen 129 bank accounts related to the case and assets amounting to approximately 645.5 million rupees, with the involved funds and properties undergoing further recovery and forfeiture procedures.

The U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill, the "Clarity Act," is a "support for regulation, support for enforcement" bill that rebuts criticisms from some law enforcement agencies regarding its inadequacy in preventing financial crimes. As the midterm elections approach, the time window for Congress to pass this bill is narrowing. Senator Cynthia Lummis warned that if progress is not made this year, the bill may not be seriously reconsidered until after 2030. Currently, the Clarity Act still faces multiple controversies, including stablecoin yield arrangements, conflicts of interest arising from Trump-related cryptocurrency businesses, and whether anti-money laundering standards are stringent enough.The latest version also incorporates the "Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act" (BRCA) pushed by DeFi supporters, aimed at clarifying that non-custodial developers should not be regarded as money transmitters. However, some law enforcement groups and lawmakers are concerned that the BRCA and certain provisions of the bill may weaken the ability to track illegal funds and recover victims' assets. Witt stated that lawmakers have responded to these concerns before the Senate Banking Committee vote and added provisions to strengthen regulatory and enforcement foundations.

According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on June 4 the abolition of the "no denial" policy that had been in place for nearly 30 years. This policy, in effect since 1998, required defendants to commit to not publicly denying the CFTC's allegations when settling.CFTC Chairman Mike Selig stated that this move aligns with the overall direction of various government regulatory agencies and grants the commission greater flexibility in enforcement settlements. Previously, the SEC had taken the lead in abolishing a similar policy in May.

According to Infobae, 10 judicial departments in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina coordinated a large-scale operation with security forces from various locations, which included 90 simultaneous raids. The operation resulted in the arrest of 24 individuals and the seizure of over 8 million USDT and nearly 60 million dollars in cash. Additionally, 80 mobile phones, computers, tablets, and processors were confiscated.The case investigates alleged investment fraud, which is believed to have caused losses of nearly 3 billion dollars. The coordination of this operation was handled by the Crypto Assets Assistance and Coordination Group of the Buenos Aires Attorney General's Office. According to the group's report, the seized amount exceeded the previous record held by this specialized group: during the RainbowEx operation in 2024, over 2 million dollars were seized.

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.