OFAC

Bitcoin Miner Marathon Will No Longer Censor Transactions, CEO Says

"Marathon is committed to the core tenets of the Bitcoin community, including decentralization, inclusion, and no censorship," said the CEO.

Tech  ·  31 May 2021

Marathon Miners Have Started Censoring Bitcoin Transactions, Here’s What That Means

Despite Marathon's efforts, transactions from a dark web market still made it into the block.

Tech  ·  7 May 2021
Russia

US Government Sanctions Crypto Addresses Linked to Russian Election Fraud Scheme

The move is part of a sweeping set of actions taken by the U.S. government against alleged Russian election interference.

News  ·  15 April 2021
BitPay

BitPay to Pay $500K to Settle OFAC Sanction Violation Charges

BitPay is accused of facilitating over 2,100 transactions with individuals in sanctioned nations.

News  ·  18 February 2021
Sanctions

Virgil Griffith Still Doesn’t Know What Exact Crimes He Is Accused of, Attorneys Say

Attorneys for Virgil Griffith want the U.S. government to specify the charges he’s facing rather than a broad claim that he violated U.S. sanctions.

Policy & regulation  ·  11 December 2020
North Korea

Ethereum Dev Virgil Griffith’s Attorney Files Motion to Dismiss Charges of Aiding North Korea

The motion, filed by Brian Klein, claims the indictment of Griffith doesn't "specify any alleged overt facts," and contains no actual allegation of fact.

Policy & regulation  ·  26 October 2020
CoinFlash

OFAC Warns That Firms Helping Victims With Ransomware Payouts Risk Violating Its Rules

If you assist a ransomware victim in paying out to cyber attackers, you could end up facing civil penalties, OFAC says.

Policy & regulation  ·  5 October 2020
CoinFlash

US Sanctions Two Russians Accused of Using Fraud to Steal Millions in Crypto

The pair is accused of having stolen $16.8 million from customers of three different crypto exchanges, including two in the U.S.

News  ·  16 September 2020
Election 2020

US Treasury Sanctions Russians Using Crypto for Election Interference

The U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control has added three Russian nationals and a host of cryptocurrency addresses to its sanctions list.

News  ·  10 September 2020
Sanctions

US Agency Says Chinese Drug Traffickers Used Bitcoin to Launder Proceeds

The U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control has sanctioned four Chinese residents, claiming they helped launder drug proceeds using bitcoin.

News  ·  17 July 2020
Ethereum

USA v. Virgil Griffith: What We Know (and Don’t) in the Bombshell Crypto Sanctions Case

Prosecutors appear to have a strong case against Virgil Griffith, the ethereum developer charged with conspiring to aid North Korea, legal experts say.

News  ·  31 January 2020
Exchanges

Bittrex Will Release Frozen Crypto to Former Users in Sanctioned Regimes

Crypto exchange Bittrex is looking to return crypto holdings to customers in sanctioned nations, but there are conditions.

Markets  ·  11 November 2019
OFAC

US Treasury Blacklists Bitcoin, Litecoin Addresses of Chinese ‘Drug Kingpins’

The U.S. Treasury's OFAC has put bitcoin and litecoin addresses of three Chinese nationals on its sanctions list, the second time the agency has blacklisted crypto wallets.

Markets  ·  21 August 2019
Regulation

Treasury Official: Global Regulators Must Follow US Lead in Crypto Enforcement

U.S. Treasury Department Under Secretary Sigal Mandelker called for global efforts to police malicious actors' use of cryptocurrencies.

Policy & regulation  ·  4 December 2018
Sanctions

Get Ready for Crypto Sanctions Enforcement

Recent OFAC actions are just the first step in crypto sanctions enforcement, write attorneys Beau Barnes and Jake Chervinsky.

Business  ·  2 December 2018