US authorities are going after these crypto entities

Over time, the United States government, through its regulatory agencies, has brought cases against various crypto companies, demanding compliance with their products and services.

While the list is extensive, some cases have stood out, such as lawsuits against decentralized protocols like Uniswap, crypto-mingling platforms like Tornado Cash, and big companies like Binance and Coinbase.

US Fights Crypto

The US government’s fight against crypto entities intensified last year. Within 48 hours in early June, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and Coinbase, the world’s and the country’s largest crypto exchanges. The allegations against the entities were similar: failure to register as broker-dealers, national stock exchanges, clearing agencies and violation of US securities laws.

Two months after Binance and Coinbase’s lawsuits, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted the co-founders of Tornado Cash, accusing them of laundering more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds. That was a year after the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the crypto mixer for its ties to cybercrime groups.

Late last year, the SEC sued crypto exchange Kraken over the same charges it brought against Binance and Coinbase. At the same time, the DOJ accused Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), of willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The case saw the crypto exchange pay a $4.3 billion fine, while CZ stepped down as CEO with a $50 million penalty.

The war on DeFi

In March 2024, the DOJ charged crypto exchange KuCoin and its founders with violating the Bank Secrecy Act and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.

Last month, the SEC filed a notice of intent to sue Uniswap Labs, the company behind the decentralized crypto exchange, Uniswap, for reasons that have yet to be disclosed. Around the same period, blockchain software technology company Consensys received a notice from Wells from the agency indicating its intent to take enforcement action against the company for violations of securities laws through its MetaMask wallet.

In addition, the DOJ arrested and indicted the founders of the privacy-focused Samourai bitcoin wallet in the same month, accusing them of enabling more than $100 million in laundered funds. At the time of writing, the wallet services were shut down and their websites were seized. Additionally, the DOJ recently arrested early BTC investor Roger Ver, popularly known as Bitcoin Jesus, for allegedly evading up to $50 million in taxes.

Meanwhile, a notable case in the industry is the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, which has helped the crypto community clarify the values ​​of crypto assets.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored) Binance Free $600 (Exclusive to CryptoPotato): Use this link to register a new account and receive an exclusive welcome offer of $600 to Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER 2024 for CryptoPotato readers on Bybit – Use this link to register and open a $500 BTC-USDT position on Bybit Exchange for free!