Justice Department Says It Will Pull Back on Prosecuting Crypto Fraud

In case you had any doubts, the golden age of white-collar crime is upon us. The Justice Department announced on Monday that it will stop regulating the digital asset space, instead focusing its efforts on prosecuting crimes that utilize cryptocurrency, like drug and human trafficking. The news comes shortly after President Trump delivered pardons to individuals in the crypto industry, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and more recently the leaders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. The founders of that exchange were sentenced to prison for failing to maintain anti-money laundering and identity verification systems. The Justice Department under former President Biden said BitMEX was essentially functioning as a “money laundering platform,” allowing illicit funds to flow without conducting proper diligence. But now, exchanges like BitMEX will be empowered to conduct schemes without accountability, and criminal operations like North Korea’s infamous hacking teams will be able t ... Read full article.