US Treasury issues first-ever sanctions against a cryptocurrency mixer

Cryptocurrency mixers are often used to assist online criminals wash their taken money by concealing its true origins, and the United States Treasury is now prepared to clamp down on them when hostile governments are involved. The department has released its very first sanctions versus a Bitcoin mixer, Blender.io, for supposedly and “indiscriminately” helping North Korea launder over $20.5 million in crypto from the $620 million Axie Infinity break-in and other crimes..
The steps obstruct all Blender residential or commercial property in the US (or managed by US locals), in addition to US-linked transactions and any entities where obstructed individuals have bulk control. On a standard level, obstructs create an audit path and avoid sanctioned entities funds from changing hands.
The sanctions followed authorities pinned the Axie Infinity theft on Lazarus Group, a clothing regularly connected to the North Korean federal governments cybercrime and cyberwarfare efforts. North Korea has actually been consistently accused of hacking banks and cryptocurrency holders to evade global sanctions and fund its weapons programs.
The Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control also used the opportunity to identify four digital wallets Lazarus supposedly used to wash the remainder of the Axie Infinity crypto. The wrongdoers relied on one “trip” wallet for the criminal activity itself.
The agency stressed that most cryptocurrency activity was legal, and that it was just targeting mixers that assist lawbreakers. If you purchase something through one of these links, we might earn an affiliate commission.

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