Connect with us

Uncategorized

Senate Dems Slam DOJ’s Decision to Axe Crypto Unit as a ‘Free Pass’ For Criminals

Published

on

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is under fire from Senate Democrats following his recent decision to narrow the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) crypto enforcement priorities and disband its crypto enforcement squad.

In a Thursday letter to Blanche, six Senate Democrats — Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) — blasted his decision to cut the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) as “giv[ing] a free pass to cryptocurrency money launderers.”

The Senators called Blanche’s directive that DOJ staff no longer pursue cases against crypto exchanges, mixers or offline wallets “for the acts of their end users” or bring criminal charges for regulatory violations in cases involving crypto, including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), “nonsensical.”

“By abdicating DOJ’s responsibility to enforce federal criminal law when violations involve digital assets, you are suggesting that virtual currency exchanges, mixers, and other entities dealing in digital assets need not fulfill their [anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism] obligations, creating a systemic vulnerability in the digital assets sector,” the lawmakers wrote. “Drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters, and adversaries will exploit this vulnerability on a large scale.”

In his memo to DOJ staff on Monday evening, Blanche cited U.S. President Donald Trump’s January executive order on crypto, which promised to bring regulatory clarity to the crypto industry, as the reason for his decision.

“The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator,” Blanche wrote, adding that the agency will “no longer pursue litigation or enforcement actions that have the effect of superimposing regulatory frameworks on digital assets while President Trump’s actual regulators do this work outside the punitive criminal justice framework.”

Instead, Blanche urged DOJ staff to focus their enforcement efforts on prosecuting criminals who use “victimize digital asset investors” or those who use crypto in the furtherance of other criminal schemes, like organized crime, gang financing, and terrorism.

Read more: DOJ Axes Crypto Unit As Trump’s Regulatory Pullback Continues

For the Senate Democrats, however, Blanche’s claim doesn’t quite cut the mustard.

“You claim in your memo that DOJ will continue to prosecute those who use cryptocurrencies to perpetrate crimes. But allowing the entities that enable these crimes — such as cryptocurrency kiosk operators — to operate outside the federal regulatory framework without fear of prosecution will only result in more Americans being exploited,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers urged Blanche to reconsider his decision to dismantle NCET, calling it a “critical resource for state and local law enforcement who often lack the technical knowledge and skill to investigate cryptocurrency related crimes.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James raised similar concerns in her own letter to Congress on Thursday, urging lawmakers to pass federal legislation to regulate the crypto markets. Though her letter itself made no mention of Blanche’s memo or the shuttering of NCET, a press release from her office highlighted that her letter “comes after the [DOJ] announced the dismantling of federal criminal cryptocurrency fraud enforcement, making a robust regulatory framework all the more critical.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Ваш адрес email не будет опубликован. Обязательные поля помечены *

Uncategorized

Bitcoin Nears Golden Cross Weeks After ‘Trapping Bears’ as U.S. Debt Concerns Mount

Published

on

By

Bitcoin’s BTC price chart is echoing a bullish pattern that foreshadowed the late 2024 price surge from $70,000 to $100,000 amid mounting concerns over the sustainability of the U.S. debt.

The leading cryptocurrency by market value appears on track to confirm a «golden cross» in the coming days, according to charting platform TradingView. The pattern occurs when the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of prices crosses above the 200-day SMA to suggest that the short-term trend is outperforming the broader trend, with the potential to evolve into a major bull run.

The moving average-based golden cross has a mixed record of predicting price trends. The impending one, however, is worth noting because it’s about to occur weeks after its ominous-sounding opposite, the death cross, trapped bears on the wrong side of the market.

A similar pattern unfolded from August through September 2024, setting the stage for a convincing move above $70,000 in early November. Prices eventually set a record high above $109K in January this year.

BTC's price chart: 2024 vs 2025. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

The chart on the left shows that BTC bottomed out at around $50,000 in early August last year as the 50-day SMA moved below the 200-day SMA to confirm the death cross.

In other words, the death cross was a bear trap, much like the one in early April this year. Prices turned higher in subsequent weeks, eventually beginning a new uptrend after the appearance of the golden cross in late October 2024.

The bullish sequence is being repeated since early April, and prices could begin the next leg higher following the confirmation of the golden cross in the coming days.

Past performance does not guarantee future results, and technical patterns do not always deliver as expected. That said, macro factors seem aligned with the bullish technical setup.

Moody’s amplifies U.S. debt concerns

On Friday, credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating from the highest ”Aaa” to ”Aa1”, citing concerns over the increasing national debt, which has now reached $36 trillion.

The bond market has been pricing fiscal concerns for some time. Last week, CoinDesk detailed how persistent elevated Treasury yields reflected expectations for continued fiscal splurge and sovereign risk premium, both bullish for bitcoin.

Read: BTC Boom Likely as Bond Yields Surge

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

XRP Price Surges After V-Shaped Recovery, Targets $3.40

Published

on

By

Global economic tensions and regulatory developments continue to influence XRP’s price action, with the digital asset showing remarkable resilience despite recent volatility.

After experiencing a significant dip to $2.307 on high volume, XRP has established an upward trajectory with a series of higher lows, suggesting continued momentum as it approaches resistance levels.

Technical indicators point to a potential bullish breakout, with multiple analysts highlighting critical support at $2.35-$2.40 that must hold for upward continuation.

Technical Analysis Highlights

  • Price experienced a 3.76% range ($2.307-$2.396) over 24 hours with a sharp sell-off at 16:00 dropping to $2.307 on high volume (77.9M).
  • Strong support emerged at $2.32 level with buyers stepping in during high-volume periods, particularly during the 13:00-14:00 recovery.
  • Asset established upward trajectory, forming higher lows from the bottom, with resistance around $2.39 tested during 07:00 session.
  • In the last hour, XRP climbed from $2.358 to $2.368, representing a 0.42% gain with notable volume spikes at 01:52 and 01:55.
  • Price surged past resistance at $2.36 to reach $2.366, later establishing new local highs at $2.369 during 02:03 session on substantial volume (539,987).
  • Currently maintaining strength above $2.368 support level with decreasing volatility suggesting potential continuation of upward trajectory.

Disclaimer: This article was generated with AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. This article may include information from external sources, which are listed below when applicable.

External References

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

SUI Surges After Finding Strong Support at $3.75 Level

Published

on

By

Global economic tensions and shifting trade policies continue to influence cryptocurrency markets, with SUI showing particular resilience.

The asset established a trading range of 4.46% between $3.70 and $3.86, finding strong volume support at the $3.755 level.

A notable bullish momentum emerged with price surging 1.9% on above-average volume, establishing resistance at $3.850.

The formation of higher lows throughout the latter part of the day suggests consolidation above the $3.775 support level.

Technical Analysis Highlights

  • SUI established a 24-hour trading range of 0.165 (4.46%) between the low of 3.700 and high of 3.862.
  • Strong volume support emerged at the 3.755 level during hours 17-18, with accumulation exceeding the 24-hour volume average by 45%.
  • Notable bullish momentum occurred in the 20:00 hour with price surging 7.2 cents (1.9%) on above-average volume.
  • Resistance established at 3.850 with higher lows forming throughout the latter part of the day.
  • Decreasing volatility in the final hours suggests consolidation above the 3.775 support level.
  • Significant buyer interest appeared between 01:27-01:30, forming a strong support zone at 3.756-3.760 with exceptionally high volume (over 300,000 units per minute).
  • Decisive bullish reversal began at 01:42, establishing a series of higher lows and higher highs.
  • Breakout above 3.780 occurred at 01:55, followed by consolidation near 3.785 with decreasing volume.

Disclaimer: This article was generated with AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. This article may include information from external sources, which are listed below when applicable.

External References

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.