Crypto Sanctions: What to Expect from the DOJ and Binance

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• The Department of Justice will announce “significant cryptocurrency sanction actions” in a press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
• This morning, the Department of Justice also revealed that it seized 9 million Tether from a fraud operation exploiting victims through “romance fraud and cryptocurrency scams.”
• Late Monday evening, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the parent companies of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange.

The US Department of Justice will announce crypto sanctions in a press conference today: An agreement with Binance is expected!

Justice Department to Announce Crypto Sanctions

The Department of Justice will announce “significant cryptocurrency sanction actions” in a press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam are all expected to speak.

The meeting will announce “separate but related cryptocurrency sanction actions.” The Justice Department and Binance have been working on a multi-billion-dollar deal to prevent a collapse similar to FTX. According to insiders, the deal could be between 4 to 5 billion dollars. It allows Binance to continue its operations while providing law enforcement access to its database.

Additionally, this morning, the Department of Justice also revealed that it seized 9 million Tether from a fraud operation exploiting victims through “romance fraud and cryptocurrency scams.” Tether, on Monday, announced freezing 225 million USDT after cooperating with a DOJ investigation that included the US Department of Justice and the US Secret Service, involving OKX.

Tether claimed that the funds were linked to a Southeast Asia-based human trafficking network and responsible for a “global ‘pig butchering’ romance fraud.” The Department of Justice has not been the only government agency actively targeting crypto companies this week.

SEC’s Crypto Action

Late Monday evening, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the parent companies of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. There will be no senior official from the SEC at Tuesday’s press conference. The lawsuit alleges that Kraken commingled customer funds and did not register as an exchange.