Tagged: cryptocurrency

Podcasts

15 May, 2023

Episode 274 — Cryptocurrency and Sanctions Risks Featuring Matt Stankiewicz

The cryptocurrency industry has a target on its back – and perhaps justifiably so.  The SEC, CFTC and OFAC have been bringing a number of regulatory enforcement actions, including against Bittrex, Inc. ($24,280,829.20 in settlements with OFAC and FinCEN) and Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken ($362,158 settlement with OFAC).  Yet, the cryptocurrency has lots to worry about when it comes to compliance – fraud, cybersecurity, and...

General

25 Jan, 2023

Bitzlato Cryptocurrency Exchange Founder Charged with Processing $700 Million in Illicit Funds

Matt Stankiewicz from The Volkov Law Group rejoins us for a posting on the recent Bitzlato, cryptocurrency scandal. Matt can be reached at [email protected]. On Wednesday, January 18, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York charging Russian-national Anatoly Legkodymov, a senior executive at Bitzlato Ltd. (“Bitzlato”), a cryptocurrency exchange registered in Hong Kong.  Legkodymov—also...

selective focus of bitcoins on laptop computer

Podcasts

2 Nov, 2022

Episode 252 — Matt Stankiewicz on the Bittrex OFAC and FinCEN Enforcement Action: Cryptocurrency and AML and Sanctions Compliance 

The Episode is available HERE. Matt Stankiewicz, a Partner at Volkov Law, is a leading industry expert on cryptocurrency.  Bittrex, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, suffered twin enforcement actions for AML and Sanctions Compliance deficiencies.  Matt takes a deep dive on the enforcement actions and outlines practical compliance steps that every cryptocurrency exchange should implement.   The Episode is available HERE. Corruption Crime and Compliance is available...

General

12 Apr, 2022

OFAC Focuses on Cybercrime by Sanctioning the Hydra Darknet Market and GARANTEX Cryptocurrency Exchange

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us to discuss OFAC’s recent sanctions relating to cybercrime, darknets, and cryptocurrency. Matt can be reached at [email protected]. Continuing with both its crackdown on cybercriminals and illicit digital marketplaces, along with its continued economic pressure on the Russian Federation, OFAC has sanctioned two entities that fit both criteria.  On April 5, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department’s...

General

8 Apr, 2022

Jessica Sanderson Participates in Women in Compliance Event

Last week, our Partner Jessica Sanderson joined a panel of outstanding women in compliance for a fireside chat hosted by ClauseMatch in honor of International Women’s Day. The group discussed current topics including crypto regulations and risk mitigation, how to maintain adequate supervision in a remote world, how to ensure the compliance function can scale with your business, how technology and AI can support a compliance program, how...

black and red caliper on gold colored bitcoin

General

12 Nov, 2021

What to Know About the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us to discuss the DOJ’s cryptocurrency enforcement efforts.  He can be reached at [email protected]. In early October, U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the creation of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”).  The NCET will handle the Department’s investigations and enforcement actions relating to cryptocurrency and virtual assets, which has seen...

various cryptocurrency on table

General

26 Oct, 2021

Takeaways from OFAC’s Sanctions Compliance Guidance for Virtual Assets and Cryptocurrency

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a post on sanctions compliance in the cryptocurrency industry. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. In early October, OFAC released a guidance brochure on sanctions compliance, specifically tailored for the cryptocurrency and virtual assets industry.  For seasoned compliance veterans, it ends up reading like a refresher course for sanctions compliance.  While the guidance was...

General

19 Sep, 2021

A Compliance Crisis at NFT Marketplace OpenSea – Transparency on the Blockchain

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a post on the recent scandal at OpenSea, the cryptocurrency industry’s preeminent NFT marketplace. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. The crypto industry is abuzz with a recent scandal involving OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the industry (for those not in the know, NFT stands for non-fungible token, and the most common use...

round silver and gold coins

General

15 Sep, 2021

Cryptocurrency and the Unbanked: How the Blockchain Can Benefit the Impoverished

I recently came across a paper prepared by students from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs that delves into the benefits that cryptocurrency and the blockchain can provide to the world’s unbanked.  Specifically, the paper discusses how cryptocurrencies can help with “reaching and benefitting the unbanked/underbanked people, who do not make use of traditional financial services, including banks.”  Gemini Trust Company, LLC, one of...

General

16 Mar, 2021

CFTC Opens Inquiry into Binance, One of the World’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Matt Stankiewicz, Managing Counsel at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a post looking into the CFTC’s recent inquiry into Binance. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. On Friday March 12, Bloomberg News reported that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has opened an inquiry into Binance Holdings Ltd. (“Binance”) to investigate allegations that the exchange allowed US citizens to trade in cryptocurrency derivatives,...

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