<img src="https://secure.glue1lazy.com/215876.png" style="display:none;">

Measuring the Regulatory Gaps for Digital Assets and the Use of Technology to Bridge the Gap

Authors

                                                                                                                                         

Dan M. Berkovitz (Former General Counsel of the SEC and former Commissioner of the CFTC )                                   

Mriganka Pattnaik  (CEO, Merkle Science)                               

In the first section of this article, Dan M. Berkovitz outlines the regulatory gap that currently exists in digital assets, the risks it presents to individual stakeholders and the overall financial system, and how this gap might be addressed by policy in the long term and the implementation of regtech solutions in the short-term. In the second section of this article, Mriganka Pattnaik explores the role of blockchain analytics and technology solutions for market participants, investors, and government agencies to work together to operationalize the prevention, detection, and enforcement of illicit activity on the blockchain.

I. Regulatory Gaps in the U.S. over Digital Assets

By Dan M. Berkovitz, former SEC General Counsel and former Commissioner at CFTC

Read More

The Israel-Hamas Conflict Revealed a New Frontier in Terror Financing

On 18th October 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has imposed sanctions on ten Hamas members, operatives, and financial facilitators, including a Gaza-based money services business (MSB), Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company. Additionally, a terrorist-linked Bitcoin address was also sanctioned (19D1iGzDr7FyAdiy3ZZdxMd6ttHj1kj6WW) thathas received a total of $288,380,277 so far. 

Read More

Beyond Bitcoin: Examining Tron’s Emergence as the Preferred Coin for Illicit Financing

On October 17, 2023, Binance blocked 100 accounts linked to Hamas, the terrorist group that launched a surprise attack on Israel. This action comes on the heels of blocking 190 accounts also linked to Hamas just one week earlier. These actions rightfully drew concern from the media and public: To what extent are terrorist groups in general and Hamas in particular transacting with cryptocurrency? 

Read More

Global Drug Syndicate Targeted in U.S. Enforcement Operation

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has once again taken rigorous steps to combat drug trafficking fueled by virtual currencies. In a recent enforcement action, OFAC imposed sanctions on 28 individuals and entities implicated in the global proliferation of illegal narcotics. Notably, among these targets is a China-based network responsible for the large-scale production and distribution of substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and MDMA precursors. Moreover, they also added 17 virtual currency addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN).

Read More