ChainCatcher news, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently expressed his views on social media regarding the U.S. Treasury's decision to lift sanctions on Tornado Cash: "No one wants to see bad actors using cryptocurrency. But privacy is an important feature for many law-abiding citizens, and you can't sanction open-source code (this is a free speech issue). I'm glad to see this issue resolved."He added, "We look forward to working with the Treasury to find ways to combat the approximately 0.1% of illegal activity in the cryptocurrency space (far lower than cash or the banking system) that align with U.S. laws and values."Previous news, according to the update announcement of the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list released by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on March 21, several Ethereum addresses related to Tornado Cash have been removed from the sanctions list.

ChainCatcher news, Chainalysis pointed out in a blog post that there have been many seemingly positive developments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem this year.It noted that with the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) revising fair accounting rules, cryptocurrencies continue to gain mainstream recognition in many ways.Chainalysis also mentioned that the funds flowing into "legitimate" services so far this year are at the "highest level" since 2021 (the last peak of the bull market). It pointed out that illegal activity funds have decreased by "19.6%, from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion, indicating that the growth rate of legitimate activities is outpacing on-chain illegal activities."These signs suggest that cryptocurrencies will continue to be "adopted globally," which is also reflected in Japan's crypto ecosystem. Overall, Japan's services have a "generally lower exposure to global illegal entities, such as sanctioned entities, dark web markets (DNM), and ransomware services, as most Japanese services primarily target Japanese users."However, the report clarifies that this does not mean Japan is "completely immune to crypto-related crime," with public reports including Japan's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) JAFIC emphasizing that cryptocurrencies pose a "significant money laundering risk." Chainalysis further pointed out that although Japan's contact with international illegal entities may be limited, the country "is not without its own local challenges. Off-chain criminal entities utilizing cryptocurrencies are common but often remain unknown." (Crowdfund Insider)

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve's Kashkari stated that very few transactions occur in cryptocurrencies unless they are related to drugs or illegal activities.

ChainCatcher news, German authorities have shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchanges suspected of being involved in money laundering and other criminal activities, stating that these exchanges deliberately failed to fulfill their obligations to conduct identity and background checks on customers. Some of these exchanges include Xchange cash, 60cek, Baksman, and several other smaller platforms. One of the exchanges has been active since 2012, while others were established just the previous year.

ChainCatcher news, German authorities have shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchanges suspected of being involved in money laundering and other criminal activities, stating that these exchanges deliberately failed to fulfill their obligations to conduct identity and background checks on customers. Some of these exchanges include Xchange cash, 60cek, Baksman, and several other smaller platforms. One of the exchanges has been active since 2012, while others were established just the previous year.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Eric Jardines, head of research at blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, stated that although the dollar value of crypto crime is significant, the proportion remains relatively small: less than 1% of on-chain value is related to illegal activities. Additionally, fraud methods such as "pig butchering" are currently the mainstream means of crypto crime.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the stablecoin issuer Tether has helped 145 law enforcement agencies recover over $108.8 million in USDT related to illegal activities since its launch in 2014.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoini wrote in a statement on August 23: "Tether is unwaveringly committed to supporting global law enforcement in combating the illegal use of cryptocurrency." Since its launch, Tether has "voluntarily blocked" over 1,900 cryptocurrency wallets associated with illegal activities worldwide.

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has charged Meta Materials Inc. and its former CEO with market manipulation, fraud, and other illegal activities.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Meta Materials Inc. and its former CEOs John Brda and George Palikaras. The company has agreed to resolve the SEC's charges in an administrative proceeding, while the SEC's lawsuit against Brda and Palikaras will proceed in federal district court.In a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York federal district court, the SEC alleges that Brda and Palikaras orchestrated and executed a manipulation scheme, which included the immediate issuance of preferred stock dividends prior to a merger. The complaint alleges that Brda and Palikaras informed certain investors and advisors and hinted through social media that the dividend would force short sellers to exit their positions and trigger a "short squeeze," artificially inflating the price of the company's common stock.

ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today published its "2023-24 Annual Report," which mentions that in order to more promptly combat fraudulent activities related to suspicious virtual asset trading platforms, the SFC established a joint task force with the Hong Kong Police Force in October 2023 to monitor and investigate illegal activities involving or appearing to involve virtual assets or virtual asset trading platforms.The SFC has issued press releases and social media posts to include suspicious entities on a warning list and held press briefings to alert the public to 19 cases of suspected fraud related to virtual asset trading platforms and unlicensed virtual asset trading platforms. Through joint efforts, the police have responded to the SFC's requests and quickly taken action to block the websites of the suspected fraudulent entities.

According to ChainCatcher news, local sources in Buenos Aires, Argentina reported that Worldcoin has denied allegations of illegal activities during its operations in Buenos Aires, explaining that Worldcoin prioritizes "the opportunity to interact with government agencies, regulatory bodies, and third parties to address any questions they may have." Additionally, Worldcoin stated that it has responded to all inquiries made by provincial authorities since January, while the authorities' allegations still need to be substantiated.Previous reports indicated that Worldcoin was accused of including unfair terms in contracts that violate Argentina's National Consumer Protection Law, and of inconsistencies in handling biometric data. Allegations include unfair terms such as service suspension without refunds, prohibition of collective claims, and limiting dispute resolution to California, among others. The company has also been criticized for not preventing minors from registering and for issues related to iris data storage, currently facing fines exceeding $1 million.

ChainCatcher news, the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued the "Opinions on Fully Leveraging the Functions of the Procuratorial System to Lawfully Serve and Guarantee High-Quality Financial Development." The opinions point out that severe punishment should be imposed according to the law on crimes that seriously endanger financial security, and the crackdown on illegal fundraising crimes in areas such as fake private placements, fake gold exchanges, pensions, private equity funds, virtual currencies, and prepaid cards should be continuously intensified; it is necessary to collaborate to lawfully regulate financial innovation activities, pay attention to new risks of financial violations and crimes carried out under the guise of investments in virtual currencies, digital collectibles, etc., and proactively research and formulate response and disposal plans with relevant departments.

ChainCatcher news, Binance's new CEO Richard Teng posted on the X platform: "Everyone has seen bankers advocating for the closure of the crypto industry due to illegal activities. But let's look at the facts. I really appreciate Dr. Andrzei Gwizdalki's analysis, who gathered data from the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and cryptanalysis. As Dr. Gwizdalki said, 'When dealing with illegal financial activities, perspective is crucial. Traditional fiat currencies, like the US dollar, are involved in about $3.2 trillion of illegal activities each year, which is more than 100 times the $20 billion associated with cryptocurrencies. Shouldn't we rethink this narrative?'"

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the United States plans to hold a hearing on November 15 to delve into illegal activities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The theme of the hearing is "The Context of Cryptocurrency Crime: Combating Illegal Activities in Digital Assets."Bill Hughes, Senior Advisor and Global Head of Regulatory Affairs at Consensys, and Jonathan Levin, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Chainalysis, will testify at the hearing. Discussions surrounding illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing will be the focus of the hearing. The FSC cited a Chainalysis report from January 2023, which indicated that the amount of illegal cryptocurrency reached an all-time high due to a surge in sanctioned designations and hacking incidents.The hearing will also review the depth of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) measures implemented by cryptocurrency exchanges and DeFi providers. Additionally, the roles of regulatory entities such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will also be discussed at the hearing.

ChainCatcher news, FTX founder SBF's defense attorney stated that SBF will testify in the criminal trial, directly appealing to the jurors to prove that he did not commit fraud or conspire to commit fraud on the once-massive cryptocurrency exchange FTX.SBF will describe his perspective on the events to 12 jurors and 6 alternate jurors, who will be asked to determine whether he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times, the Metropolitan Police in London recently stated that cryptocurrency plays a "ubiquitous role" in organized crime and has established a dedicated team to combat the growing illegal activities in the digital asset sector.It was reported that last December, the Metropolitan Police began recruiting a cryptocurrency investigation team, which currently has about 40 staff members. The team started operating in May and has so far investigated 74 intelligence referrals, with 19 criminal investigations currently underway.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official announcement, Tether has frozen 32 addresses worth $873,118.34, which have been found to be associated with illegal activities in Israel and Ukraine.So far, Tether has assisted 31 institutions worldwide in 19 jurisdictions with investigations, freezing a total of $835 million in assets.

ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced that it has been closely monitoring JPEX since March of this year and is investigating the platform for alleged false and misleading statements and unlicensed activities. Due to JPEX's continued uncooperative attitude and failure to provide substantial responses to the SFC's requests, the SFC included JPEX in its list of unlicensed companies and suspicious websites in July 2022.The Hong Kong SFC stated that it confirms JPEX has never contacted the SFC regarding a possible license application, and that no entities under the JPEX group have been licensed by the SFC, nor have they applied to the SFC for a license to operate a virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong. Therefore, there has been no communication between the SFC and JPEX regarding licensing matters.

ChainCatcher news, according to a statement released by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, the financial intelligence unit of South Korea held a meeting with virtual asset service providers (VASP) to strengthen regulatory compliance. The top five cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea (including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) have established compliance systems to monitor illegal activities.The meeting revealed that Upbit has created an anomaly trading detection system using artificial intelligence (AI). Bithumb has developed a feature that automatically terminates the trading application when a remote control application is installed and money laundering transactions are detected. Coinone has strengthened the management and monitoring of "risk wallet addresses" related to financial incidents. Korbit has introduced a real-time management system and a secondary review system for each stage of suspicious transaction reports (STR). Gopax has set up a hotline that can respond immediately when it receives account freeze requests related to crimes such as voice phishing.Through a collective commitment, the participants pledged to strengthen joint dialogue around enhancing compliance capabilities. They plan to hold meetings every 2-3 months in the future to maintain this commitment.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission announced on its website on May 18 that the derivatives trading platform launched by the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Co. is operating in the Philippines without authorization, advising the public not to invest and to cease all current investments in the platform.The regulatory agency stated that Gemini Trust Company LLC was not registered in advance, and therefore its activities of issuing and/or selling securities in the form of derivatives violate relevant regulations and are illegal. Penalties for violating these regulations include criminal prosecution and a maximum of 21 years in prison, or a fine of 5 million Philippine pesos (89,562 USD). A spokesperson for Gemini declined to comment on this. (Source link)