Germany’s financial regulator has no knowledge of “cyber incidents” or market manipulation occurring on crypto trading platforms in the country, according to a press release on May 28. Referencing info from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) — the financial watchdog that oversees banks, financial services institutions and insurance services — the government responded to a question from the Free Democratic Party (FDP), a centrist political party in the country, concerning information on cyber attacks, fraud, money laundering and market manipulation involving crypto assets. A translation of the written response reveals that it does not categorize financial crimes any differently …

On May 22, 2019, cryptocurrency mixers (also called tumblers) were front and center on the news cycle, following reports of European authorities shutting down one such service. Law enforcement officials involved said the action was necessitated by reports on Bestmixer.io — i.e., the platform in question that was being used to funnel dirty money via cryptocurrencies. Stakeholders in the crypto industry decried the action, calling it a gross overreach by government agents. They also declared that it set a dangerous precedent, one that could be inimical to cryptography as a whole. In the wake of the shutdown, Vitalik Buterin, the …

A European Central Bank (ECB) official highlighted the benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) while stressing caution in a speech published by the Bank of International Settlements on May 27. Vitas Vasiliauskas — Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania and a member of the Governing Council of the ECB — delivered his speech at the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee conference "Managing the Soft Landing of the Global Economy" on April 12. Vasiliauskas specifically considered whether CBDCs should be wholesale, retail, or both. Vasiliauskas stressed that CBDCs should serve as a medium of exchange, a means of …

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is reportedly cracking down on crypto exchanges that offer anonymous transactions or have weak identity verification practices in preparation for inspection by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this fall. Nikkei Asian Review reported the development on May 22. The FATF will reportedly send its investigatory arm to review the strength of the Japanese FSA’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies, which includes policy for crypto exchanges and other financial services. Japan reportedly was given the worst possible score for identity verification in financial institutions in a 2008 report by the FATF. A decade later, the Japanese …

Dutch, Luxembourg authorities and Europol have shut down one of the three largest cryptocurrency tumblers, Europol reported on May 22. A cryptocurrency tumbler, also known as a cryptocurrency mixing service, is an anonymity tool that claims to transform transactions of non-private coins to private ones by mixing crypto funds with others, which makes it difficult to track the funds’ original source. According to the report, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) has now seized six servers of major crypto tumbler Bestmixer.io, which had a reported turnover of at least $200 million since its launch in May 2018. The …

The central bank of Laos has warned the public against the use, purchase or sale of digital currencies, local news outlet Vientiane Times reported on May 21. The Bank of the Lao PDR has issued a warning to financial market participants and the public against cryptocurrency transactions as they are considered illegal in the country. The bank previously banned financial institutions from conducting any operations with cryptocurrencies, as well as making investments in such an asset. The bank is purportedly concerned about the anonymity of the sender and receiver in a cryptocurrency transaction, which it worries increases the risk of …

A portion of the ether (ETH) stolen from hacked New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia has been moved and deposited to a different crypto exchange, according to an analysis. Crypto Anti-Money Laundering startup Coinfirm tweeted about their findings on May 20. According to Coinfirm, 30,790 (over $7.778 million) of the stolen ether has been reportedly moved to a new address, and 10 ETH (over $2,500) moved to the hot wallet of another crypto exchange. A Twitter account dedicated to reporting on large transactions to and from cryptocurrency exchanges, Whale Alert, claims that 500 of the stolen ether (over $125,000) has today …

Russia’s largest bank Sberbank has requested that a client provide information on their income from cryptocurrency, the Russian version of Forbes reported on May 17. Co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Toxenbox.io, Vladimir Smerkis, told Forbes that the unnamed client received a letter from Sberbank requiring disclosure of their crypto revenue. The letter based its demand on Federal Law No. 115, “On Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.” The client had reportedly already informed the bank about their income from exchanging cryptocurrencies. Specifically, Sberbank wanted to know the client's crypto wallet address, what mining equipment the client deployed (including the model …

While it’s possible to buy top cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, most people will need an exchange in order to buy other altcoins. Exchanges are simply an important component of the system that makes the crypto market tick. Regulators around the world have identified this, which is why regulatory moves have primarily targeted exchanges. Regulators want to be sure that exchanges employ the best security practices as well as measures — Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), for instance — that discourage illicit transactions and …

The government of Liechtenstein announced that it has passed new tokenization, virtual asset service provider and blockchain regulation in a press release published on May 8. Per the release, the new Token and VT Service Providers Act, passed on May 7, aims to improve investor protection, combat money laundering and establish clarity. The announcement also cites tokenized securities and how digital token systems can be used to tokenize real-world assets. The new law reportedly regulates “transaction systems based on trust technologies,” instead of explicitly referring to blockchain, to make sure it will stay relevant in case a new technology emerges. …

Proceedings from yesterday’s hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance have been moved to seven addresses, crypto news outlet The Block reports on May 9. The breach resulted in about 7,074 bitcoins (BTC) — worth nearly $42.8 million at press time — being stolen from the exchange’s hot wallet. The transaction had 44 outputs, 21 of which were native Segregated Witness addresses, and those addresses received 99.97% of the funds. According to The Block, the funds from those 44 addresses have been reportedly since moved to seven addresses, six of which hold 1,060.6 BTC, while one holds 707.1 BTC. Previously, anti-money laundering …

In Spain, eight people have been arrested for allegedly operating a money laundering scheme involving cryptocurrencies, Europol announced in a press release on May 8. Per the release, the group laundered money by exchanging fiat currency to crypto assets. The individuals reportedly used cryptocurrency ATMs and split funds into smaller sums to introduce them into the financial system without having the transactions reported as suspicious. Participants reportedly carried cash, depositing it in several bank accounts and moving it around through different accounts before exchanging it for crypto. Large transfers were sent to accounts from corporate entities owned by the alleged …