US Treasury Charges Bittrex With Sanctions Violations, Crypto Exchange Agrees to Settle With Regulator

On October 11, the U.S. Treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has settled charges with the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex. The crypto exchange was accused of sanctions violations and failure to “implement effective sanctions compliance controls” between March 2014 and December 2017. Crypto Exchange … Read more

Report: Digital Currency Exchange Kraken Under Investigation for Violating OFAC Sanctions

On Tuesday, a newly published report details that the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is under federal investigation for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions, according to five people familiar with the matter. The unknown sources explained that the inquiry into Kraken started in 2019, and it’s accused of allowing users from sanctioned countries like Iran access to the … Read more

Report: 100,000 Cubans Are Using Cryptocurrencies to Bypass Financial Sanctions

On May 2, 2022, a report stemming from the broadcast television and radio network the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 100,000 Cubans are leveraging crypto assets. The report says increased crypto usage is due to the fact that Cubans cannot use certain payment vehicles due to the sanctions placed on Cuba by the United States. 100,000 … Read more

Central Bank of Cuba Introduces Specific Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulation

The Cuban government has issued new regulations concerning the operation of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the country. In an official resolution, the Bank of Cuba establishes specific procedures that these individuals or companies must follow to operate legally in the country, after establishing a general framework in August. Bank of Cuba Clarifies Rules … Read more

Crypto’s Sanction-Slipping Power: Why Bitcoin’s Neutrality Is Its Greatest Humanitarian Asset

Decentralized networks such as Bitcoin’s don’t know national allegiance, they only know math. And when you’re trying to get your savings out of an ATM, or send a payment to relatives in a war-torn environment, someone else’s politics is the last thing you want standing in the way of you and your loved ones’ well-being … Read more