The United States Department of Justice is planning to sell $56 million worth of cryptocurrency seized in connection with its case against Ponzi scheme BitConnect. In a Nov. 16 announcement, the Justice Department said it would sell the seized crypto and hold the proceeds in U.S. dollars until it could use the funds to provide restitution to BitConnect victims. The U.S. government is currently holding the $56 million in crypto in wallets, and said the amount of compensation to those affected by BitConnect’s fraud would depend on a “future restitution order by the court at sentencing.” “This liquidation is the …

A group of high-level U.S. government attorneys has oulined their priorities for the enforcement and prosecution of individuals and companies that have committed crypto-related crimes. Enforcement officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) spoke about the direction their agencies will take at a panel discussion at the American Bar Association's annual institute on white-collar crime in Miami on Oct. 27. In addition to corporate players, lawmakers are taking a closer look at individuals according to a report of the event by Law360. Principal deputy assistant attorney general of …

On Oct. 6, the United States Department of Justice, or DOJ, announced the creation of a specialized unit, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, or NCET, tasked with prosecuting criminal misuses of digital assets and crypto infrastructure, as well as tracing and recovering the ill-gotten cryptocurrency. The move continues the U.S. authorities’ push to disrupt the corners of the crypto ecosystem that are thought to facilitate illicit activity, such as ransomware attacks. What does the government’s crypto enforcement ramp-up hold for the larger digital asset space? Pooling crypto expertise The new unit will operate according to the principles articulated almost exactly …

An official from the Office of the Attorney General has said the United States government is going to take a more active role in enforcement action against actors using cryptocurrencies for money laundering and other cybercrimes. Speaking at the Aspen Institute Cyber Summit on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the Justice Department had launched the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, an initiative aimed at going after platforms “that help criminals launder or hide their criminal proceeds.” Monaco cited her office’s work against Darknet-based Bitcoin (BTC) mixing service Helix in August but said the U.S. government should be doing more. …

While the value of cryptocurrencies has varied wildly in the last year, this has not diminished crypto’s attractiveness to criminals. Many of them are moving their illegal activities underground and outside the view of law enforcement. Because of the public nature of most blockchains, however, this rapid movement shouldn’t be a major concern to law enforcement agencies. With the right tools and training, following the proceeds of crypto-enabled crime is actually not as difficult as it may seem. However, intelligence agencies must have a cryptocurrency investigation plan that includes the right tools to lawfully collect digital evidence and the properly …

Powers On... is a monthly opinion column from Marc Powers, who spent much of his 40-year legal career working with complex securities-related cases in the United States after a stint with the SEC. He is now an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law, where he teaches a course on “Blockchain, Crypto and Regulatory Considerations.” Well, well, well. It seems that some of those class-action law firms that ferret out possible securities claims in search of fees and recovery for investors, sometimes wrapped self-righteously in the flag of investor harm and rights, are properly receiving a cold shoulder …

In her monthly Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting crypto and blockchain. Talk about ending a stellar career at the United States Department of Justice with a bang. The DoJ’s first-ever “crypto czar,” Michele Korver, advised government attorneys, federal agents, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Stability Oversight Council and the U.S. delegation to the Financial Action Task Force on cryptocurrency matters, and she developed cryptocurrency seizure and forfeiture policy and legislation. While she …

Coinbase chief security officer Philip Martin has refuted suggestions the American crypto exchange was involved in any seizure of crypto assets related to the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. Martin took to Twitter on Tuesday to explain the firm’s involvement, or lack of it, with the Department of Justice’s warrant for the seizure of Bitcoin. “Coinbase was not the target of the warrant and did not receive the ransom or any part of the ransom at any point. We also have no evidence that the funds went through a Coinbase account/wallet.” 1/ I've seen a bunch of incorrect claims that …

Officials with a United States government task force have seized more than $2 million in crypto used to pay for ransom following an attack on the Colonial Pipeline system. In a Monday press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said that the task force “found and recaptured” millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC) connected to Russia-based DarkSide hackers — the majority of the $4.4 million funds originally paid. A warrant filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California shows that authorities recovered 63.7 BTC, worth roughly $2.3 million at the time. Monaco said this action …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price slipped below $46,000 on Sunday for the second time in four days, raising the specter of a deeper short-term correction for the flagship digital currency. Bitcoin fell to a session low of $45,127.01, according to TradingView, before staging a modest recovery to around $45,400. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is down 5% on the day and over 20% in the last seven days. The selloff in BTC contributed to a market-wide correction for crypto assets, as Ether (ETH) fell 7%, Polkadot’s DOT declined 10%, and Binance Coin (BNB) edged down 3%. Market sentiment toward cryptocurrencies has …

Within the last hour, Bitcoin's (BTC) price dropped by more than 3%, extending the decline that started on May 12 and saw the digital asset drop as low as $46,000 on some exchanges. Initially, it was Tesla’s May 12 announcement that it would stop accepting Bitcoin as payment over environmental concerns, along with technical weakness and a nearly complete head-and-shoulders technical pattern, that pushed BTC's price down to $46,000. May 13’s bearish catalyst appears to be a Bloomberg Tax report claiming that the United States Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service are investigating Binance Holdings Ltd. for alleged “illicit …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is reportedly under investigation by both the United States Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service in an apparent effort to stymie illegal trading activity from users in the United States. According to a Bloomberg report, the two government agencies are looking into Binance Holdings Ltd as part of an investigation into U.S. residents using cryptocurrencies for illegal transactions. Officials are reportedly seeking information from Binance employees and customers, but not all their inquiries are necessarily tied to allegations of wrongdoing. The report said the information came from unnamed sources who requested anonymity due to the …