The US Treasury Department has sanctioned digital currency mixer Tornado Cash for laundering more than US$7 billion since 2019.
On August 8th, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that cybercriminals routinely use Tornado Cash to launder money. According to OFAC, the total amount laundered through the mixer includes US$455 million allegedly stolen by North Korea-backed hackers, the Lazarus Group. This was followed by his $96 million worth of funding from the Harmony Bridge robbery in June and at least nearly $8 million from last week’s Nomad attack.
Brian E. Nelson, Treasurer’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said Tornado Cash is an effective control designed to stop it from laundering money on behalf of malicious cyber attackers on a regular basis. said it has repeatedly failed to impose He also added that it had failed to impose basic measures to address that risk.
China has closed about 13,000 social media accounts worldwide to encourage investment in digital assets.
On August 9, China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC) announced that it had removed social media accounts and websites to curb illegal activities related to promoting digital currency investment. Based on tips from other social media users, CAC is reported to have deleted 989 microblogs and more than 50,000 of his posts and shut down more than 100 of his websites.
In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued another warning about the dangers of handling digital currencies. The regulator has confirmed that it will revoke its initial “in principle” approval for digital currency lender Hodlnaut. The warning comes after Hodlnaut announced it would stop withdrawing customers on Monday. The lender aims to obtain a token service license under the Payment Services Act 2019.
In a media statement, MAS said it has repeatedly reminded the public of the risks and dangers of dealing with digital currencies. are not protected under the law,” said a MAS spokesperson in relation to the suspension of withdrawals for Hodlnaut customers.
In other news, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are now supported on Instagram by Meta (NASDAQ: META) in over 100 countries. META CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company has expanded his NFT support to more than 100 countries in Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
This means that users in the region can now share NFTs in their Instagram feeds, stories and even messages. This feature also allows users to connect to digital currency wallets.
Before you go, check out the latest episode of Blockchain Beat at the recent Global IoT Summit Dublin 2022 with Becky Liggero Fontana. Plus, watch SPiCE VCs Patrick Thompson and Tal Elyashiv talk about investing in blockchain companies in More than Money.
Check out these videos on the CoinGeek YouTube Channel.
Watch: More Than Money Ep. 12 with Tal Elyashiv of SPiCE VC
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