According to a publicly available schedule, the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Digital Assets will hold a hearing at 2:00 pm Eastern Time on February 15 (3:00 am Beijing Time on February 16) to discuss the role of cryptocurrencies in crime and illegal finance.

People's Bank of China has released the "China Financial Stability Report (2023)". The report mentions the ongoing cleaning up and rectification of the financial order. Consolidating the results of shadow banking risk management, promoting the transformation of asset management business and orderly rectification of individual case assets. Prudently disposing of risks related to the Gold Exchange and "fake Gold Exchange", rectifying irregularities in third-party wealth management companies and illegal financial activities such as cross-border internet securities brokers and virtual currency trading speculation. Continue to do a good job in disposing of risks related to existing P2P online lending platforms.

Bitrace, a blockchain data analysis company, stated in an article that illegal USDT transactions generally deviate from the market exchange rate. When the stablecoin system is filled with funds contaminated by illegal transactions, the token will inevitably experience a depreciation impulse.

According to a report by Cointlegraph on December 13th, the Criminal Investigation Department of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has listed four cases related to cryptocurrency as one of the top ten "most prominent and noteworthy investigations" for 2023. These cases include investigations into the Silk Road market, OneCoin, Oyster Protocol founder "Bruno Block," and a money laundering scheme using Bitcoin self-service terminals.

Datuk Sri Nalan, director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of Bukit Aman, Malaysia, pointed out that the bureau established a cryptocurrency investigation team as early as 2018. The team was officially launched on May 31, 2022, becoming the first cryptocurrency investigation team in Southeast Asia. The team has also assisted multiple domestic and foreign institutions, analyzing a total of 532 electronic wallets, with a total amount of cases involving up to 1 billion ringgit.

US Senators Mark Warne, Mike Rounds, and Mitt Romney introduced a bill today called the "Terrorist Financing Prevention Act," which will expand the Treasury Department's sanctioning power to cover more terrorist organizations, including Hamas, and provide them with more resources to address encryption issues.

During a speech at a Blockchain Association event in Washington, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo warned about the dangers of non-U.S. stablecoin issuers that use dollar backing and their potential use by bad actors. He specifically called out dollar-backed stablecoin providers outside the United States for not putting in place procedures to prevent terrorists from abusing their platform. Adeyemo also expressed concern about the lack of action by some firms in preventing illicit activity, which he believes poses a risk to national security. Additionally, the Treasury sanctioned another crypto mixing service, Sinbad, for supporting transactions tied to North Korean hacking.

According to Coindesk, US Treasury Department has sanctioned the cryptocurrency mixing server Sinbad from the global US dollar financial system, citing its support for transactions related to North Korean hacker groups. Sinbad's website has also been seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD), the Openbaar Ministryie (Dutch Prosecutor's Office), and the Finnish National Investigation Bureau.

Tether, the issuer of the third-largest digital currency USDT, has frozen $225 million believed to belong to a human trafficking syndicate in southeast Asia. The self-custodied digital wallets holding USDT were linked to a "pig butchering" scam, and Tether worked with crypto exchange OKX and blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to track the funds and alert the authorities. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice underscores the company's dedication to fostering a secure environment and setting a new standard for safety within the crypto space. However, Tether is a controversial company that has been slow to provide documentation to prove the backing of USDT and is not independently audited.

Ekaterina Zhdanova has been hit with sanctions by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control for her role in a money-laundering network serving Russian elites. The Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence emphasized their commitment to defending against the misuse of technology in finance. Zhdanova is accused of masking the wealth of Russian clients and funnelling over $2.3 million into Western Europe through investment accounts and real estate dealings. Her tactics were multilayered, including the use of virtual currency transfers and a "tax residency service" in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury's sanctions highlight the government's proactive stance against those exploiting virtual currencies.