Crypto

Major U.S. crypto companies and lobbyists are turning against a sweeping digital-asset bill they had championed, threatening efforts to lock in a regulatory framework while Republicans still control Congress.

California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) fined crypto lending platform Nexo Capital Inc. $500,000, alleging the company made crypto-backed consumer and commercial loans to Californians without the required state license. 

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has banned the use of crypto privacy tokens in the special economic zone the body oversees, citing anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance risks, CoinDesk reported. 

India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has rolled out stricter identity verification requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges, aiming to curb money laundering and terrorist financing, CoinDesk reported, citing Press Trust of India.

Two UK-registered cryptocurrency exchanges, Zedcex and Zedxion, operated as front companies for an infrastructure that processed approximately $1 billion in funds linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to new analysis from TRM Labs. 

An elite unit of Portugal’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has taken over a money-laundering investigation involving Elvira Gavrilova Paterson, a Ukrainian movie producer who helped promote alleged crypto frauds linked to Russian entrepreneur Vladimir Okhotnikov, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 

World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s flagship crypto venture, said an affiliated entity has applied for a national banking license, The Wall Street Journal reported.

PwC has decided to “lean in” to cryptocurrency work after years of a more guarded approach, citing a friendlier U.S. policy environment under President Donald Trump and new legislation governing digital assets, according to the Financial Times. 

Iran is offering to sell ballistic missiles, drones, warships, and other advanced weapons systems to foreign governments in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency, the Financial Times reported.

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has marked a stark shift in white-collar crime enforcement, with federal prosecutors and investigators stepping back from complex foreign-bribery, money-laundering, and corruption cases, The Wall Street Journal reported.