US Bitcoin Trader Convicted for Illegal Money Transmission and Laundering

The U.S. government has been cracking down on individuals utilizing the peer-to-peer platform Localbitcoins. This week an Arizona resident named Thomas Costanzo was convicted for money laundering tied to over $164,000 worth of cryptocurrency trades. Also Read: Arizona Localbitcoins Trader Detained by U.S. Homeland Security Two Years Worth of BTC Trades Investigated The U.S. Attorneys Office … Read more

75% of $20M Bitcoin Auction from Drug Busts

Nabbed in conjunction with various administrative, civil, and federal prosecutions, the United States Marshals are preparing to auction over 2,000 bitcoin. The official sale is open to all countries, pending requirements, and will commence March 19th, 8am to 2pm Eastern, for a period of six hours. If successful, it could mean over 50 million USD … Read more

Your Taxes Paid for a Lot of Blockchain Surveillance Last Year

Governments worldwide have been ramping up regulations for cryptocurrencies and hiring research and blockchain surveillance teams. One firm that tracks transactions on the Bitcoin Core blockchain is called Chainalysis, and this year the company has gathered over a half a million USD on record from various government and law enforcement entities. Also read: South Korean Exchange … Read more

Bitcoiners Increasingly Targeted by Police as Prices Yield Large Asset Forfeiture Gains   

The Department of Justice has announced another potential auction of seized bitcoin, totalling over 8 million USD. There’s a noticeable uptick in bitcoin-related prosecutions since at least 2014 and the Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road affair. With the price of bitcoin rising to stratospheric heights, the phenomenon has made bitcoiners relatively wealthy; it might have also … Read more