[Dismas]

The DOJ indicted staff of both Blender and Sinbad. This is concerning, as mixers exist primarily to increase anonymity of transactions (including legal ones).

I'd imagine a large portion of crypto is tied to crime somewhere in the blockchain. Much like fiat currency has traces of drugs (i.e. coke residue).

The U.S. Department of Justice indicted three operators of sanctioned Blender.io and Sinbad.io crypto mixer services used by ransomware gangs and North Korean hackers to launder ransoms and stolen cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency mixers allow the mixing of deposited crypto assets among many wallet addresses to help obfuscate their source. The services then take a commission from all laundered crypto deposited before sending it to another wallet address owned by the customers.

Russian citizens Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov were each charged on Friday with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

"According to the indictment, the defendants operated cryptocurrency 'mixers' that served as safe havens for laundering criminally derived funds, including the proceeds of ransomware and wire fraud," said Brent S. Wible, the head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

"By allegedly operating these mixers, the defendants made it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from offenses that jeopardized both public safety and national security."

Blender.io, which operated from approximately 2018 to 2022, was also used by Lazarus hackers to launder $500 million out of the $617 million stolen from Axie Infinity's Ronin bridge, the largest cryptocurrency hack until that date.

Sinbad.io began operating a few months after Blender.io's shutdown, providing users with similar cryptocurrency-mixing services. In November 2023, the U.S., the Netherlands, and Poland seized its clear web and dark web domains in a joint international law enforcement operation.

Read More: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/ope...laundering

[reallysure]

I hate it when something isnt inherently criminal, but governments keep going after them like they are. Kinda like saying privacy itself is suspicious. If they start cracking down on every tool that could be used for crime, where does it stop?

[Dismas]

I hate it when something isnt inherently criminal, but governments keep going after them like they are. Kinda like saying privacy itself is suspicious. If they start cracking down on every tool that could be used for crime, where does it stop?

Agreed. There's even a few countries where things as basic as encryption are heavily regulated.

[laininthewired]

I really fucking hope the feds dont go after Monero next.

[Leon90col]

I really fucking hope the feds dont go after Monero next.

I've always wondered if Monero is as anonymous/untraceable as people claim, or if there's a way to crack it.

[laininthewired]

I really fucking hope the feds dont go after Monero next.

I've always wondered if Monero is as anonymous/untraceable as people claim, or if there's a way to crack it.

you can be de anonymized if you connect to a node ran by a bad actor

[Mpafiera]

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted three Russian nationals—Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov—for allegedly operating cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io.