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🎧 Author and journalist Emily Parker joins TRM Talks
In our latest episode of TRM Talks, out this week, Ari sits down with with author and journalist Emily Parker.
No topic is off limits as they discuss Bitcoin ETFs, global regulation, the use of the internet of money by pro-democracy movements, and Emily’s life and work in Asia. Ari and Emily dive into the most pressing issues impacting crypto today in a fun and engaging discussion.
Click here to listen to the entire TRM Talks: Bitcoin ETFs, Global Regulation, and Hot Topics in Crypto with Journalist Emily Parker. And follow TRM Talks on Spotify to be the first to know about new episodes!
🇻🇪 Venezuela looks to USDT for oil exports to evade re-imposition of US sanctions
According to reporting by Reuters, Venezuela is looking to accelerate a move to payments in light of the reimposition of oil sanctions on the country. It is also reported that Venezuela's state-run oil company (PDVSA) plans to increase the use of stablecoin USDT for its crude and fuel exports.
This development comes in the wake of last week's announcement from the US Treasury that it did not intend to renew a general license enabling business with PDVSA, after the regime failed to implement reforms.
Reuters noted that since last year, PDVSA had been slowly moving oil sales to USDT; but the reimposition of sanctions has accelerated this shift. By the end of Q1 '24, PDVSA was demanding prepayment—in certain instances—for half of each cargo's value in USDT, and is already requiring any new customer applying to conduct oil transactions to hold a crypto wallet.
PDVSA has historically relied on middlemen for its own oil sales (especially to China) since the US imposed secondary sanctions on Venezuela in 2020, disrupting its relationship with large trading partners. TRM’s sanctions team is continuing to monitor developments in Venezuela with the reimposition of sanctions coming.
🥭 Mango Markets exploiter found guilty in $100 million exploit
Last week, Avi Eisenberg was convicted on charges related to the over $110 million exploit of Mango Markets. TRM is proud to have supported law enforcement in this investigation, and the victim in the incident response.
According to reporting byCoindesk, during the trial (which began on April 9 and lasted a little over a week) the jury heard how, on October 11, 2022, Eisenberg made three large MNGO perpetual futures trades between himself—pumping the price over 1,000%. He then used this newly created collateral to trick the protocol into allowing him to “borrow” $110 million in various cryptocurrencies.
Hours after the exploit, Eisenberg posted an anonymous proposal to the Mango Markets decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), offering to return $67 million in stolen funds in exchange for a promise not to pursue charges against him and permission to retain the rest.
Eisenberg took responsibility a few days after the incident and said his actions were part of a legal, "highly profitable" trading strategy that used Mango Markets as designed.
Eisenberg later returned $67 million in funds to Mango Markets, and the protocol's community allowed him to keep $47 million in a governance vote. Mango Markets lost around $116 million worth of funds in the exploit.
Eisenberg was arrested in December 2022 in Puerto Rico. Prosecutors charged him with commodities fraud, market manipulation, and wire fraud in connection with the hack of the decentralized crypto exchange Mango Markets.
During the trial, Eisenberg's defense argued that his actions were lawful and part of a "winning" trading strategy. However, prosecutors argued that the code manipulation amounted to "brazen fraud." The jury sided with the prosecutors, who also admitted evidence showing that Eisenberg searched the web for terms such as "market manipulation criminal" and "FBI surveillance."
🇧🇷 Brazilian police use blockchain intelligence to make arrest in child exploitation case
Last month, the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) identified and arrested a twenty-year-old man for producing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to the BFP, the man advertised access to photographs and videos on a messaging application. The man also produced new child sexual abuse videos on demand with a juvenile family member.
The BFP was able to identify the defendant through the use of blockchain intelligence by connecting his cryptocurrency address to a global, compliant exchange. As shown in the TRM graph visualizer below, the BFP identified ten incoming transactions—all of which could be potential CSAM customers—including one from a US-based exchange, four from a US-based payment platform, and five from unhosted addresses.
TRM Labs is proud to support the BFP and law enforcement worldwide in its efforts to combat the sale and distribution of child sexual abuse materials.
🇬🇧 Supporting innovation through regulation
On Monday, the Chief Executive of the FCA, Nikhil Rathi, outlined his priorities for the UK’s digital regulatory landscape. Rathi discussed the rapid pace of change driven by digital transformation and emphasized that AI, regulation, transparency, and accountability are all central to the FCA’s priorities.
Regarding AI, the FCA simultaneously released its response to the government’s recent consultation on AI. In the response, they stated, “We aim to promote the safe and responsible use of AI in UK financial markets and to leverage AI in a manner that fosters beneficial innovation. We view beneficial innovation as a crucial element of effective competition.” The FCA highlighted their current approach to overseeing AI and also described their current use of AI, including detecting scams and testing sanctions screening.
Over the next 12 months, the FCA plans to continue deepening its understanding of AI, pursuing domestic and international collaboration to establish best practices, and further exploring how regulators can utilize AI to fulfill their mandates.
🇺🇸 OFAC continues to sanction cyber actors in move to counter a shift to the digital battlefield
On Tuesday, US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two companies and four individuals involved in malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC). DOJ and the FBI also unsealed an indictment against the four individuals for their roles in cyber activity targeting U.S. entities.
As we move further toward a digital battlefield—where wars, at least in part, are fought in cyberspace and across blockchains—we continue to see Treasury and other agencies target cyber warfare.
In the last few months, we have seen OFAC target Russian disinformation, Iranian and Russian fintechs, North Korean cyber actors, Chinese hackers, and Russian ransomware groups. In the midst of all this activity, DOJ stood up a Nat Sec Cyber Section as the Department reconstitutes for the digital battlefield. For more on crypto and national security read this piece from Cipherbrief.
🇹🇭 Thai police bust million dollar crypto fraud scheme
According to the Bangkok Post, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau of the Royal Thai Police announced on Tuesday that they had seized THB125m (USD3.39m) from a crypto fraud scheme, and will be returning the assets to the victims.
These seizures were originally from a crackdown of two online gambling websites last year. Investigators had separately received five reports on a crypto fraud scheme with losses totaling THB527m (USD14.2m)—following the money, the RTP found that the fraud scheme was in fact linked to the online gambling website.
In addition to the THB125m asset seizure, 23 individuals associated with the schemes were also arrested.
TRM Labs provides blockchain intelligence to organizations that need to monitor, detect and investigate fraud and financial crime in crypto.
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