OFAC


Tech

Latest Ethereum Blocks Suggest Validators Are Reversing Censorship

Noncensoring relays such as Agnostic and ultra sound are delivering more data blocks on Ethereum than Flashbots, the one-time king of MEV-delivering relays.

(Creative Commons, modified by CoinDesk)

Tech

Tornado Cash Fork, Privacy Pools, Deployed on Optimism Testnet

Privacy Pools uses zero-knowledge proofs to prove that funds in anonymous transactions are not linked to criminal activity, such as North Korea’s $625 million hack on Axie Infinity.

(Israel Palacio/Unsplash)

Finance

Crypto Crime Hit All-Time High of $20.6B in 2022: Chainalysis

Kim Grauer, the blockchain sleuthing firm's head of research, told CoinDesk TV sanctioned activity and hacking were the driving forces behind the rise in illicit transaction volumes last year.

(Adam Levine/CoinDesk)

Tech

Fewer Than Half of New Ethereum Blocks Over the Past 24 Hours Are OFAC Compliant

For the first time since October, fewer than 50% of new blocks over a 24-hour period are OFAC compliant, partially thanks to more noncensoring options that make up a larger share of the blockspace market.

(Creative Commons, modificada por CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Bitzlato Co-Founder Released After Arrest in Moscow, Pledges Relaunch of Seized Exchange

“I could launch the exchange from my apartment," Anton Shkurenko said of the exchange multinational authorities shut down in January. The Bitzlato team has retained most of its users’ funds and could resume operations quickly, he said.

The U.S. Treasury Department is seeking public comment on the role of cryptocurrencies in illicit finance, and its own response to this issue. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Videos

US Blacklists Bitcoin, Ether Addresses Tied to Russian Sanctions-Evasion Efforts; Bitcoin Price Predictions

The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions watchdog, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has blacklisted a bitcoin and an ether address linked to sanctions evasion. Plus, bitcoin (BTC) price predictions from ARK Invest and Matrixport.

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Policy

US Blacklists Bitcoin, Ether Addresses Tied to Russian Sanctions-Evasion Efforts

The addresses are linked to Russia's arms exports intermediary, according to OFAC.

Edificio del Departamento del Tesoro de Estados Unidos, en Washington D. C. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Videos

21.co’s 2023 Crypto Outlook

21.co co-founder and CEO Hany Rashwan joins “First Mover” to discuss its report on the state of crypto, focusing on macroeconomic conditions and regulation. He shares 21.co’s predictions on bitcoin's price action, OFAC sanctions and the developments in the metaverse. Plus, the possibility of a bitcoin ETF in the US.

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Videos

How a Year of Exploits and Hacks Shaped Regulatory Responses to Crypto

Ari Redbord, Head of Legal and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, reflects on the record-setting year in crypto exploits. While millions of dollars drained from crypto protocols dominated headlines, he points to the "impactful regulatory response" following these hacks, namely the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) sanctioning of crypto mixers.

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Tech

Is Ethereum’s Censorship Problem Taking a Turn?

New relayers and community efforts have contributed to a decline in censorship on the blockchain

(DALL-E/CoinDesk)

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