Earlier today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury updated its Specially Designated Nationals List, adding several individuals and a number of cryptocurrency addresses. One of the individuals added was Artem Mikhaylovich Lifshits — a Russian national, accused of interfering in the U.S. elections. In addition to disclosing his personal information, the site lists a number of cryptocurrency addresses that he allegedly controls. One of the Ethereum addresses, found at 0xa7e5d5a720f06526557c513402f2e6b5fa20b00, does not seem to exist, however. Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury. There was likely a mixup somewhere in the chain of command and the Treasury meant to blacklist 0xA7e5d5A720f06526557c513402f2e6B5fA20b008 …
The U.S. filed criminal charges against Russian national Artem Lifshits for his management of an affiliate of the infamous Internet Research Agency, which U.S. authorities accuse of interfering in the 2016 election. The new complaint alleges that Lifshits has managed the translator department of Project Lakhta since 2017, in which capacity he illegally obtained U.S. identification documents in order to use "the means of identification of United States persons to open bank accounts, PayPal accounts, and cryptocurrency accounts." The charge is conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice says these accounts were a means for Lifshits and …
Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor’s note One of the most persistent myths about Bitcoin is its supposed anonymity. More properly termed pseudonymity, BTC wallets are permanently tied to their public keys. Most of you know that. But it took government investigators years of trying to corral Bitcoin transactions on dark web marketplaces like the Silk Road to figure that out. Now, however, blockchain analysis is a growing industry, catering to a range of clients including many of the most shadowy of government agencies. This was …
As Russia’s self-styled “special operation” against Ukraine continues, crippling economic sanctions remain the Western powers’ primary weapon to counter Russia’s military actions without triggering an even more dramatic escalation. As NATO and allies’ financial offensive unfolds, ensuring that the collective West presents a united front remains political leaders’ chief concern. The global crypto industry keeps getting suspicious looks as some agents of state power are seemingly entrenched in their beliefs that digital assets could be the weak spot undermining the efficiency of the sanctions push. Despite ample evidence to the contrary — including the FBI director’s Congress testimony — there …
Regulation by enforcement, a fast and economical substitute for thorough rulemaking, is widely regarded as some of the U.S. executive agencies’ preeminent approach to crypto regulation. It could be summed up as letting crypto firms explore the boundaries of what is permissible by themselves and then punishing industry participants in case their exploratory actions come to look like a transgression. Others will take heed and learn from the explorer’s negative experience. While it is the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that gets accused of over-reliance on regulation by enforcement most frequently, other federal agencies do that as well. Last …