U.S. Blacklists Crypto Exchange for First Time

Full article by Nikhilesh De found here.

Key Points:

• The U.S government has sanctioned a cryptocurrency exchange for the first time as part of a greater battle against ransomware attacks.

• U.S. Treasury Departments has announced that it will be adding Russian exchange Suex.io to a list of specially designated nationals (SDNs) for facilitating cryptocurrency transactions between ransomware attackers.

• Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo has stated that Suex facilitated transactions from at least eight ransomware instances, and as much as 40% of Suex’s transaction volume is comprised of addresses linked to known hostile actors.

• The designation puts Suex in a category with known terrorists and drug traffickers. U.S. residents and citizens are prohibited from doing business with the exchange or face fines and criminal charges.

• Chainalysis, blockchain analytics and data analysis group, states that of the $480 million in bitcoin transactions sent to the Suex.io exchange since February 2018, at least $160 million is tied to illicit activities.

• Adeyemo finalized his announcements, stating that “we recognize that the vast majority of activity that’s happening in the virtual currencies is legitimate activity, but we also do know that these criminals are using some of these exchanges and mixers and peer-to-peer services to conduct illicit activity that is not in our national interests.”