Tagged: us department of treasury

November 4, 2023 @ 7:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova for utilizing crypto to launder and move money on behalf of “Russian elites.” Strict sanctions have been enacted by the US and other nations following Russia’s unprovoked… Read More

September 20, 2023 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, announced its ambitions in regard to “net zero financing and investment,” outlining their goal of net zero commitments and how they can compel financial services firms to adhere to their ideology. Secretary Yellen said: “Going forward, the… Read More

August 25, 2023 @ 12:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have announced proposed rules for the handling of digital assets and the sale and exchange of crypto. In a public statement, the two federal entities said the move was an effort to “crackdown on… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 6:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the US Department of Treasury posted a report on DeFi entitled “2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment.”  For the first time, Treasury addressed the concept of DeFi  – a sector of digital assets that engenders challenges for regulators. Treasury noted that DeFi is… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 1:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

DeFi, or decentralized finance, took fire from the US Department of Treasury today as part of an ongoing policy attack targeting the crypto industry. Treasury published the “2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment,” the first report on DeFi that outlines the risk of the popular… Read More

April 5, 2023 @ 2:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Operation Cookie Monster Genesis Market, a dark web operation that catered to criminals looking for stolen identities to pilfer bank accounts or pursue ransomware operations, has been taken down in a coordinated operation that involved many different enforcement agencies around the world. The Federal Bureau… Read More

March 28, 2023 @ 9:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Today, the US Senate Banking Committee will meet to discuss the recent calamitous events in the banking sector. Multiple banks have experienced bank runs, and several have been taken over as these firms fell prey to poor management in regard to interest rate risk, and… Read More

March 21, 2023 @ 11:03 am By JD Alois  |  

US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, addressed the American Bankers Association today, tackling the topic on everyone’s mind. The precarious financial services industry and the possibility for contagion. The collapse of multiple banks in the US has now spread to Europe. This past week,… Read More

March 19, 2023 @ 4:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several government entities have commented on UBS’s recently announced takeover of Credit Suisse. The acquisition was supported by the Swiss government. Credit Suisse faced a crisis of confidence this past week, which could have spilled over into this coming week. Swiss government officials worked to… Read More

March 12, 2023 @ 6:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve have joined to protect all account holders at the Silicon Valley Bank (NASDAQ:SIVB), which was taken over by the federal government on Friday. The exceptional action means that accounts holding over $250,000 will have access to… Read More

March 6, 2023 @ 6:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Jay Shambaugh, the Under Secretary for International Affairs at the US Department of Treasury, delivered a speech today in front of the Institute of International Bankers’ conference. In the presentation, Shambaugh addressed a litany of hot topics that covered Fintech, including digital assets, as well… Read More

December 1, 2022 @ 11:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has sent a letter to the US Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing his concerns following the bankruptcy filing of FTX. The crypto exchange, once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, filed… Read More

November 29, 2022 @ 11:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Crypto exchange Kraken has settled with the US Department of Treasury, which had alleged sanction violations. Falling under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Kraken has agreed to pay $362,158.70 to settle a possible civil liability for claimed violations of the Iranian Transactions and… Read More

November 21, 2022 @ 5:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the US Department of Treasury published a report entitled Assessing the Impact of New Entrant Non-bank Firms on Competition in Consumer Finance Markets. The report was delivered to the White House Competition Council. The 128-page document informed the White House that Fintech firms… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 3:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, it was reported that Bittrex was the target of an enforcement action emanating from the US Department of Treasury. Two divisions at Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced enforcement actions. The crypto trading… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 11:23 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury has revealed two enforcement actions against the crypto exchange Bittrex. According to a statement issued by Treasury, Bittrex has settled for $24 million with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and for $29 million with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network… Read More

September 13, 2022 @ 8:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

This is interesting. At some point today, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the US Department of Treasury, posted an FAQ on Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer that was recently the target of an action by OFAC. Last month, Tornado Cash was… Read More

September 9, 2022 @ 9:48 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) applied sanctions to Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing platform. The second sanctions hitting a mixer, the enforcement action is still the first of its kind as the code running Tornado.cash was open… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The sanctioning of open source crypto mixer Tornado.cash has generated much scrutiny and questions about the legality of a governmental entity punishing code. On August 8th, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer, citing occurrences… Read More

August 14, 2022 @ 4:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

As has been widely reported, the US Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado.cash for enabling illicit activities in regards to crypto thefts, ransomware and money laundering. Many crypto proponents are up in arms as this is the… Read More