Topic
sanctions
16 stories
Treasury Cuts MEXC Off From the U.S. Financial System, Citing $16 Billion in Alleged Illicit Flows
FinCEN issued an order on November 6 barring U.S. financial institutions from transacting with crypto exchange MEXC Global, which Treasury accuses of moving at least $16 billion tied to Iran, North Korea and Russia.
Drift Says $285M Drain Was a Six-Month North Korean Infiltration
Drift Protocol says a North Korean state-affiliated group spent six months infiltrating its contributors before draining roughly $285 million from the Solana-based exchange, according to the protocol's own incident report.
Bessent says US will 'probably' seize $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto this week
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Newsmax summit the US will "probably" seize $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto this week but named no wallets and didn't say if it adds to prior seizures.
US and UK Hit Russian Crypto Sanctions-Evasion Networks in Coordinated Move
The U.S. Treasury designated Russia's A7 Network a transnational criminal organization and proposed cutting its front companies off from U.S. finance, while the UK sanctioned crypto firms Cryptomus and TokenSpot in a Russia package.
Grinex, the Exchange Linked to Sanctioned Garantex, Halts Trading and Blames a $13M "Western" Hack
Russian crypto exchange Grinex halted trading on October 1, claiming a roughly $13 million hack it blamed on "Western special services" — an unverified assertion made on its own Telegram channel.
US sanctions Iranian exchange BitBank over alleged bitcoin transfers to IRGC
The U.S. Treasury's OFAC sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, alleging it moved hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to the IRGC, along with its developer and three Zanjani associates.
DOJ moves to seize $61M in crypto it ties to Iranian black-market oil
The U.S. Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14 seeking $61 million in cryptocurrency it alleges was laundered from Iranian black-market oil sales through Binance accounts and unhosted wallets.
Where 700 million TRX went after leaving HTX's cold wallets
Protos traced 700 million TRX — about $238 million — leaving HTX cold wallets in May, with funds routed through burner addresses toward Justin Sun's Poloniex Super Representative and 100 million TRX sent on to Binance.
North Korea's Lazarus Group moved $30M+ through Hyperliquid while Washington courts the platform
Blockchain data from Arkham, reviewed by CoinDesk, shows wallets tied to North Korea's Lazarus Group sold over $30 million in bitcoin on Hyperliquid in three weeks, even as the Trump administration weighs bringing the platform onshore.
Protos traces HTX reserve assets into Poloniex wallets after $1.3B moved to an unnamed custodian
Protos says it traced hundreds of millions of dollars in HTX reserve assets — including WBTC and roughly $200 million in sUSDS — through Etherscan-labelled Poloniex wallets, weeks after HTX moved $1.3 billion to an unnamed "ThirdParty" custodian.
Protos traces $135M of HTX's staked ether into wallets labelled Poloniex
Protos traced 71,853 stETH from an HTX proof-of-reserves address into wallets Etherscan labels as Poloniex, one of them formerly tagged "Justin Sun 4," days before HTX shifted reserves into an undisclosed "ThirdParty" bucket.
Treasury sanctions Iranian marine "insurance" scheme that took bitcoin for Hormuz passage
The U.S. Treasury designated two Iranian maritime insurers, including a bitcoin-accepting platform built by Tehran's economy ministry, alleging they extorted ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz for the IRGC.
TRM Labs says HTX is 'rotating wallets' to dodge sanctions screening; HTX calls it routine
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says Justin Sun's HTX exchange is cycling its wallets every few hours to evade sanctions screening, a characterization HTX rejects as routine security operations.
Russia's Duma clears bill letting ordinary investors buy crypto — with a 300,000-ruble annual leash
Russia's State Duma passed a bill Tuesday putting crypto trading under state oversight and letting retail investors buy major tokens through registered intermediaries, capped at 300,000 rubles a year each.
Treasury sanctions Iran-linked wallets; Tether freezes ~$131M in USDT
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned crypto wallets tied to Iran's central bank, and stablecoin issuer Tether froze roughly $131 million in USDT on the Tron network shortly before the announcement.
Treasury sanctions 134 ISIS-K crypto addresses; Tether freezes the Tron wallets
OFAC added 134 crypto addresses tied to ISIS-K to its sanctions list on July 1, and Tether promptly froze the roughly $1.4 million that passed through the 131 flagged Tron wallets.