Enforcement Actions

On Monday, the US Treasury designated Iran's cryptocurrency sector as a sanctionable activity under Executive Order 13902, marking the first time the nation's digital-asset economy became a named target of OFAC sanctions machinery. Alongside gold, technology, aviation, and shipping, crypto is now on

A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted Brent C. Kovar of operating a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors, the Justice Department announced on Monday. Kovar owned Profit Connect, a Las Vegas company that from late 2017 until July 2021 falsely claimed to run ar

According to the Justice Department, a federal jury convicted Las Vegas business owner Brent C. Kovar on Monday, August 24, 2026, of operating a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors. Through his company Profit Connect, which operated from late 2017 until

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Treasury Department expanded sanctions against Iran on August 25, adding cryptocurrency, gold, shipping, and technology services. The sanctions target individuals including Ivan Obukhov, who the U.S. alleges processed over $100 million in cryptocurrency transactions

According to Cointelegraph citing Galaxy Research, the Coldcard hardware wallet attack resulted in the theft of 1,789.28 BTC from 8,865 addresses. Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn confirmed that 87.3% of the stolen funds, approximately 1,561 BTC, remain unmoved in attacker-controlled addresses.

According to Cointelegraph, Las Vegas businessman Brent Kowal was convicted by a federal jury of operating a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Kowal was found guilty on 11 counts of wire fraud, 2 counts of mail fraud, and 2 counts of money laundering. The U.S. Department of Justice stated he

According to The Block, Las Vegas businessman Brent Kovar was convicted of a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme and faces up to 280 years in prison. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Kovar operated Profit Connect, using

The US Treasury expanded its Iran sanctions framework to cover the country's digital asset sector on Monday, citing over $100 million in crypto payments allegedly used to facilitate Iranian oil sales. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sectoral sanctions determinations covering digit

The US Treasury is expanding the threat of secondary sanctions to Iran-linked cryptocurrency activity, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing new measures on Monday as part of Operation Economic Outcast. The campaign targets digital assets alongside four other sectors — technology, gold, a

According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the US announced new secondary sanctions targeting Iranian digital-asset activity on Monday (August 24) as part of Operation Economic Outcast, a broader campaign to isolate Iran economically. Crypto is one of five sectors facing increased sanctions

According to reports, Cosmos Labs issued an emergency advisory on August 25 urging Cosmos EVM chains to halt validator operations as engineers address an ongoing security incident affecting its shared Ethereum-compatible infrastructure. Cosmos Labs recommended that validators stop network operations

In September 2025, Russian investigators detained IT specialist Yuri Belenky, and Binance data was used in the case, even though the exchange had left Russia. Documents reviewed by Reuters show that Binance provided personal and transaction data that was later included in a Russian terrorism financing case. Customer records remained accessible after the company’s departure because financial regulations require such information to be retained. Binance sold its Russian business on September 27, 20

According to a TRM Labs report on August 25, Iran's Mabna Institute transferred approximately $16.8 million across 30 Bitcoin, Ethereum, and TRON addresses. The related addresses can be traced back to 2018. The institute has been linked to coordinated hacking-for-hire activities allegedly

Polish prosecutors have charged Przemyslaw Kral, the head of the bankrupt Polish crypto exchange Zondacrypto, with fraud, local outlet Onet reported. In exchange for a more lenient sentence, he offered to testify about right-wing politicians and their ties to the exchange. Negotiations over possible cooperation lasted about six months and took place in Poland, Sicily, and the Gulf states. Przemyslaw Kral offered testimony in exchange for leniency Polish media reported that Kral left Poland sever

A federal jury convicted San Francisco resident Japheth Dillman, 48, of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading fund, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday. Dillman defrauded more than 20 investors of nearly $1 million through f

According to The Block, a federal jury on August 25 convicted Japheth Dillman, a 48-year-old San Francisco video game company founder, of wire fraud for operating Block Bits Capital, a fraudulent crypto trading fund. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Dillman faces a maximum of 20 years

A U.S. soldier was recently identified as having obtained more than $400,000 in profits on Polymarket using nonpublic information. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has initiated a criminal investigation into the matter, though the agency's involvement has faced

Bitcoin (BTC) continued to rebound, trading at around $79,750 as of August 25. The United States imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran targeting sectors including digital assets and oil. Treasury Secretary Bessent called the move “economic D-Day.” Japan plans to ease restrictions on large stablecoin payments, with individual transactions potentially exceeding ¥1 million. Macro Events & Crypto Highlights The Block reported that the U.S. Treasury announced a new round of sanctions on Iran targe