Enforcement Actions

8,300 Chinese victims applying for compensation in a 60,000 Bitcoin money laundering case with slow progress, law firms acting independently leading to repeated issues, and rising legal fees. In February 2026, a hearing will be held in the High Court of the United Kingdom, involving over 30 billion RMB and nearly 130,000 victims. Bitcoin market capitalization has significantly shrunk.

On February 12, the largest banking lobbying organization in the United States—the American Bankers Association (ABA)—submitted a comment letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), urging it to slow down the approval process for cryptocurrency-related licenses until Congress completes rules for stablecoins and digital assets. The association warned that prematurely approving new digital asset institutions into the national banking system could pose potential risks to financial stability and resolution mechanisms. Currently, institutions including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, and Laser Digital (a subsidiary of Nomura Securities) are applying for or already hold OCC conditional trust bank licenses. World Liberty Financial, associated with Trump, also submitted an application covering its $1 stablecoin. The ABA believes that, in the absence of the implementation of the GENIUS Act and its supporting regulations, the OCC should not follow the traditional approval pace.

The European Union plans to implement the 20th round of sanctions against Russia, including a comprehensive ban on cryptocurrency transactions with Russia, aimed at blocking Russian channels to bypass sanctions. Additionally, the sanctions will be expanded to include more Russian banks and certain third-country banks, expected to be approved on February 24. Russia, on the other hand, is promoting digital asset legislation to respond to these regulatory measures.

Cryptocurrency hackers can now transfer stolen funds within 2 seconds of an attack starting, and in most cases, they move assets before victims disclose data breaches. Global Ledger's analysis of 255 crypto hacking incidents in 2025 draws the clearest conclusion: 76% of hacker attacks had funds transferred before public disclosure, and this percentage rose to 84.6% in the second half of the year.

Blockchain data analysis company Bubblemaps released a survey report accusing the $1 million prize winner @beaverd on the X platform of being a long-term active meme coin scammer. The associated wallet launched $SIAS meme coins on Pump.fun, and after the market cap surged to $6 million, it collapsed to zero within minutes. Four side-wallets sniped profits of nearly $600,000.

On February 12, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $4 million fine against peer-to-peer encryption platform Paxful. The company previously admitted that, lacking anti-money laundering and customer due diligence mechanisms, it had long transferred funds for criminals and profited directly from it. The related funds are said to be connected to human trafficking, scams, extortion, and illegal prostitution activities. Prosecutors disclosed that between January 2017 and September 2019, Paxful facilitated over 26 million transactions totaling nearly $3 billion, earning approximately $29.7 million in revenue. The Department of Justice pointed out that the company had promoted its platform as "no identity information required" and issued anti-money laundering policies that were not actually enforced, thereby attracting high-risk customers.

Sam Bankman-Fried claims to have new evidence proving that the U.S. Department of Justice, under the leadership of former President Biden, silenced key witnesses in his fraud case and is pushing for a retrial. He attached a court document link seeking a retrial under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33. The motion cites a statement from former FTX employee Daniel Chapsky, who said that his lawyer "strongly advised" him not to testify due to the risk of "media attacks and possible retaliation from the prosecution."

The U.S. Department of Justice has fined cryptocurrency trading platform Paxful Holdings Inc. $4 million for failing to establish effective anti-money laundering measures, allowing funds related to criminal activities to flow and profiting from it. Investigations found that Paxful was aware that some customer funds originated from illegal activities but continued to provide services.

Paxful was sentenced to pay $4 million for facilitating money laundering and related crimes. Although it acknowledged a penalty of $112 million, the DOJ reduced it due to the company’s financial situation. Paxful also faces a $3.5 million civil penalty.

Uniswap Labs wins a patent infringement lawsuit, with the court ruling that the plaintiff failed to make a reasonable request. The case involves Bancor claiming that Uniswap used its patented code without permission, and the judgment found that the relevant patent claims are not protected, upholding the DeFi community's freedom to innovate.

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins outlined the SEC's key focus areas at the congressional session, including reducing corporate compliance costs, supporting IPOs and capital formation, promoting digital asset regulation, reviewing traditional regulatory tools, and strengthening investor protection and enforcement. The SEC will continue to protect investors and promote market fairness.

Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian crypto entrepreneur facing potential extradition to France, may be part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. His supporters argue that the extradition would result in double punishment, highlighting the complexities of cross-border legal issues in the crypto industry.

_Ransom notes demand up to $6M in Bitcoin in the Nancy Guthrie case as the FBI releases footage and confirms wallet activity._ A reported Bitcoin ransom demand has surfaced in the case of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of television anchor Savannah Guthrie. Media outlets received

Foresight News reports that SBF (@SBF_FTX) posted on X stating that new evidence shows the Biden administration's Department of Justice has threatened multiple witnesses, forcing them to remain silent or change their testimonies. He calls for the charges to be dismissed and believes that the judge's actions against defendants including himself, former FTX executive Ryan Salame, and President Trump, Lewis

A federal judge in New York dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit from Bancor against Uniswap, stating the patents involved referenced only abstract ideas. The court's ruling allows Bancor to amend its case within 21 days, or the dismissal becomes final.

On February 11, news, the U.S. Southern District of New York Federal District Court made an important ruling, dismissing the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin Ltd. related to Bancor against Uniswap. Judge John G. Koeltl stated in a memorandum opinion issued on February 10 that the patents involved are essentially "abstract concepts" and do not meet the patentability standards under U.S. patent law. The case centered around the "Constant Product Automated Market Maker" model, which is one of the core liquidity pricing mechanisms in decentralized finance. The plaintiffs claimed that Uniswap illegally used their automated pricing and liquidity pool technology, but the court held that these patents only involve "fundamental economic practices of calculating currency exchange rates for trading," and even if implemented on blockchain and smart contracts, they do not qualify for patent protection.

American "Today Show" host Savannah Gessley's mother was kidnapped, and the kidnappers demanded $6 million in Bitcoin. The case has raised concerns about cryptocurrency crimes and has drawn mainstream society's attention to the risks of blockchain. Law enforcement faces difficulties, with no concrete clues found, and family members released a video for help. This incident serves as a warning about the spread of cryptocurrency crimes in society.

CFTC Chicago Enforcement Team, consisting of 20 people, has completely left. It was once the top enforcement force in the cryptocurrency market, and is currently expanding its regulation of the crypto and prediction markets. A former lawyer said this move was targeted layoffs because they have experience with FTX settlements. The fines collected by the agency's enforcement have dropped sharply from $17.1 billion in 2024 to $9.2 million in 2025.

Logan Paul was exposed for fake betting on Polymarket during the 2026 Super Bowl, showing his account balance as zero. This behavior sparked regulatory legal and ethical controversies and raised questions about transparency in cryptocurrency market marketing. At the same time, the legal battle between Polymarket and the Massachusetts government also reflects the regulatory challenges faced by prediction markets. The industry criticizes the marketing tactics of such platforms as being unethical and potentially posing financial threats to young audiences.