South Korea's Cabinet approved regulations removing the 1 million won ($700) minimum threshold for crypto Travel Rule compliance, requiring information sharing for all virtual asset transfers between registered service providers regardless of amount. The revision also mandates disclosure of major shareholder information for VASP registration applicants.
Brazil's central bank announced new anti-fraud regulations requiring cryptocurrency transfers above $10,000 (approximately R$51,000) to be delayed by up to 24 hours for additional security analysis. The rules take effect January 1, 2027.
The United States Treasury Department sanctioned two Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, alleging they processed billions of dollars in transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and facilitated sanctions evasion. The action is part of the Trump administration's 'Economic Fury' campaign targeting Iranian financial networks.
The XRP Ledger Foundation and RippleX issued urgent security warnings on August 6-7, 2026, alerting users to phishing campaigns promoting fraudulent XRP airdrops and fake "XRP Rewards Scanner" tools designed to steal cryptocurrency from investors.
South Africa's draft Crypto Assets Manual proposes banning corporate cross-border stablecoin transactions and treating transfers to self-custody wallets as capital outflows, prompting warnings from industry leaders like VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani that the rules could drive crypto activity offshore and reduce regulatory oversight.
Following a firmware vulnerability in Coldcard hardware wallets that affected seed generation, attackers have begun laundering stolen cryptocurrency, with 64 BTC ($4.17M) and 200 ETH ($380K) routed through mixers. At least 15 separate attackers are exploiting the vulnerability, with the largest controlling 1,159 BTC that remains unmoved, in what's being called the biggest hardware wallet exploit in crypto history with losses exceeding $30 million.
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission proposed draft amendments on August 4, 2026, requiring all domestic crypto platforms to share customer information on platform-to-platform transfers, with implementation scheduled for October 2026.
Federal prosecutors charged three Missouri men—Sedric Louis, John Davis, and Martel Williams—with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery over an alleged August 2024 plot to kidnap a Bitcoin holder and steal cryptocurrency through a planned home invasion in Connecticut. The defendants have pleaded not guilty and face up to 20 years in prison.
Physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders have resulted in more than $30 million in losses during the first half of 2026, with home invasions becoming the most common method and France accounting for a disproportionate share of incidents. The trend puts 2026 on track to become the worst year on record for violent crypto thefts.
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced plans to create a dedicated Virtual Asset Joint Investigation Division within the Seoul Serious Crime Investigation Agency (Jungdaebeomjoe Susacheong), set to launch October 2. The new agency will focus on seven major crime categories including corruption, economic crimes, defense procurement, narcotics, insurrection, cybercrime, and judicial obstruction.
Hackers illegally accessed Liechtenstein's Register of Beneficial Economic Owners during the night of July 29-30, 2026, stealing data on approximately 31,000 companies and foundations. The government has established a crisis cell to investigate the breach of the register, which was created in April 2021 to combat money laundering and financial crime.
Minnesota's law prohibiting virtual currency kiosks takes effect August 2, 2026, following reports that residents lost approximately $1 million to crypto ATM scams between 2023 and 2025, with senior citizens comprising the majority of victims.
Hong Kong experienced a surge of romance scams involving cryptocurrency, with 25 cases reported in a single week resulting in $9 million in losses. Criminals gained victims' trust through false promises of love and investment returns before draining their accounts.
A Reuters investigation revealed that Shelbit, an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, processed at least $4 billion for an Iranian sanctions-evasion network linked to the IRGC, Iran's central bank, and illegal gambling operations. At least $676 million from wallets connected to this network flowed to Binance.
Marcos Arturo Kleiman Tronllan, 40-year-old CEO of cross-border currency exchange MoneyFlip LLC, was arrested July 30 on federal charges for allegedly paying undercover agents $40,000 in cryptocurrency to kidnap and kill a businessman over an unpaid debt. Prosecutors allege he converted $750,000 into cryptocurrency before arranging the payments.
The IRS Criminal Investigation division issued a warning about fraudsters mailing official-looking letters directing crypto holders to a fake 'Digital Asset Compliance Portal' designed to steal digital assets and personal information.
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on two Iranian maritime companies allegedly part of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed insurance network, with one firm accepting Bitcoin and other digital assets as payment.
The European Union approved its 21st package of sanctions against Russia on July 23, 2026, imposing transaction bans on 14 cryptocurrency platforms and operators accused of helping Russia evade sanctions, including entities tied to the A7 Network. The package also targets 48 individuals and 170 organizations across energy, financial services, and shipping sectors.
India's cybercrime agency has ordered GitHub to take down Bitchat, a Bluetooth mesh messaging app created by Jack Dorsey that enables offline communication and bitcoin transactions, citing security concerns as protesters use it to bypass internet shutdowns during ongoing demonstrations in Delhi.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced a partnership with global non-profit STOP THE TRAFFIK on July 23, 2026, to detect and investigate cryptocurrency activity linked to human trafficking and child exploitation through intelligence sharing, training, and investigative support.
Bitcoin mining pool OCEAN has announced the launch of Portal, a new end-to-end encrypted dashboard that allows miners to monitor and manage their operations while maintaining privacy and data sovereignty without revealing their identity.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed five civil forfeiture lawsuits seeking to seize more than $25 million in cryptocurrency recovered from investigations into international fraud schemes, including fake investment platforms and romance scams that targeted victims in the United States and Canada.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reports that cryptocurrency exchange HTX has been systematically rotating its hot wallets and deposit addresses across four blockchains since UK authorities imposed sanctions on the platform in May 2026, making sanctions enforcement more difficult.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and U.S. Secret Service announced that investigations by the Cyber Fraud Task Force have resulted in the seizure of more than $25 million in cryptocurrency connected to international fraud operations.
Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has set up a specialized cryptocurrency investigation unit within its National Command and Control Centre to investigate money laundering, terrorism financing, and other crimes involving digital assets. Officials said the unit will monitor suspicious crypto transactions and investigate crypto-linked cybercrime and financial fraud, while the FIA's counter-terrorism chief separately recommended that the cybercrime and anti-narcotics agencies establish similar units to address cybercrime and drug trafficking.
Blockchain firm Consensys disclosed that a North Korea-linked software developer gained access to its team and MetaMask wallet code before being identified and removed. The developer used a fake identity to infiltrate the company.
The United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, freezing more than $130 million in digital assets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the action as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Iran's sanctions evasion activities.
An opinion article in China's Supreme People's Procuratorate newspaper outlined a framework for prosecuting crypto money laundering, including presuming criminal intent when mixers or privacy coins are used.
A four-month INTERPOL operation spanning 97 countries resulted in 5,811 arrests and the seizure of $293 million in illicit assets. Thai police arrested two suspects linked to a romance scam network, with one 20-year-old's cryptocurrency wallet processing over $122.5 million in suspicious transactions.
The Reserve Bank of India reasserted its call for a cryptocurrency policy 'leaning towards prohibition,' while the country's tax department warned that offshore trading and P2P transactions are difficult to track and enforce, according to internal government documents reviewed by Reuters.
India's Enforcement Directorate conducted raids on six Bengaluru-based crypto on-ramp/off-ramp firms, investigating alleged unauthorized cross-border money transfers totaling approximately ₹2,500 crore ($300 million).
Major U.S. banks are bracing for public scrutiny as a Trump administration banking regulator wraps up a review into whether financial institutions improperly closed customer accounts for political reasons, with results expected to name specific banks.
Bipartisan U.S. lawmakers, led by Representative Lance Gooden (R-TX), have introduced legislation to establish a cross-agency federal task force dedicated to investigating cryptocurrency fraud, hacking, and theft. The task force would be led by the attorney general and coordinate efforts across multiple law enforcement agencies.
The European Union has proposed its 21st package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, targeting the country's banks, cryptocurrency networks, drone production, oil traders and refiners. The package includes 80 proposed listings aimed at Russia's military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists, adding to what the EU estimates is a $1.5 trillion cumulative economic hit on Russia.
Visa and stablecoin issuer Brale have launched a proof-of-concept testing SBC stablecoin settlement on the Canton Network's privacy-preserving blockchain. Separately, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe are reportedly backing a new stablecoin platform that Coinbase is considering joining.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted on May 14, 2026 to advance the Clarity Act, a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation bill, marking the first major legislative progress for the crypto industry. The approval came despite minority staff releasing a national security advisory warning the bill fails to address vulnerabilities exploited by criminals and foreign adversaries.
Reuters found that Nobitex, Iran's leading crypto exchange, was founded by sons of an elite political family tied to Iran's supreme leaders, with hundreds of millions in transactions linked to sanctioned Iranian state entities moving through the platform since 2018.
FBI-led operation resulted in 275 arrests in Dubai and one in Thailand, targeting cryptocurrency romance scam operations. European police separately arrested 10 people and dismantled three scam centers estimated to have stolen over $58 million.
French prosecutors charged 88 people linked to at least 12 crypto-related physical attacks ('wrench attacks') targeting cryptocurrency holders. France has recorded 135 crypto-linked incidents since 2023, with authorities urging crypto holders to avoid extensive social media exposure.
A Bank of France official advocated for stricter Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations on non-euro stablecoins as European lawmakers advance reporting requirements for self-custodial crypto wallets above €5,000.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced it will include cryptocurrency firms in its cybersecurity threat intelligence sharing program, previously limited to traditional financial institutions. The move reflects increased frequency and sophistication of attacks targeting digital asset platforms.
Security researcher ZachXBT exposed a 390-account North Korean IT worker network that has generated over $3.5 million in crypto flows since November 2025, coordinating payments through a server using the password '123456.' The revelation follows earlier reports of North Korean infiltration of 40+ DeFi platforms.
US prosecutors rejected Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm's newest argument for case dismissal, stating a recent Supreme Court ruling cited by his attorneys was 'inapposite' to the case as Storm faces retrial on two charges.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT published 'Circle Files' alleging that Circle has inconsistently applied its freeze powers for USDC, with wallets blocked while stolen funds continued to move, raising questions about the stablecoin issuer's compliance enforcement.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT publicly accused stablecoin issuer Circle of failing to freeze over $420 million in illicit USDC funds across more than 15 cases since 2022, including the recent Drift Protocol exploit where $230+ million in stolen USDC flowed through Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) without being blocked.
The UK government imposed an immediate moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties following the Rycroft review, which warned that crypto's anonymity risks undermine democratic transparency and enable potential foreign interference. The ban aims to protect democracy from illicit finance.
