The Securities and Exchange Commission filed two separate enforcement actions targeting the cryptocurrency industry — the first against Binance and its CEO, and the second against Coinbase. The SEC’s actions underscored its aggressive strategy to reign in cryptocurrency companies. In this Episode, Matt Stankiewicz and Mike Volkov discuss these two important enforcement actions.

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for another post detailing the SEC’s suit against Coinbase. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. On June 6, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) officially filed suit against Coinbase, Inc. (“Coinbase”) alleging the company operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.  The SEC is also suing Coinbase for failing to...

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a post detailing the SEC’s recent suit against Binance. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. In a complaint filed June 5, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is suing the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance Holdings Ltd. (“Binance”), BAM Trading Services Inc. (“BAM Trading”), BAM Management US Holdings Inc. (“BAM Management”), Binance’s...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...