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Investigation Dismantles $100 Million Crypto Money Laundering Ring in Spain and Cyprus

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A gang that ran a “sophisticated money laundering service” and used crypto to shift profits between criminal organizations has been busted following an international investigation.

Eurojust, which helps law enforcement agencies across the EU collaborate, says 23 suspects have been arrested.

Cryptocurrencies worth $28 million have been frozen following the investigation, with about $8 million in cash seized following raids across the continent.

It’s estimated that the scheme laundered more than $100 million, and an investigation started in 2023.

According to Eurojust, border officials in Spain had discovered that large sums of money were being transported on trips to Cyprus. This led to a much larger network being uncovered.

It’s believed that at least 52 people were members of the “professionally structured organization” across both Spain and Cyprus.

Up to six money laundering transactions were taking place each week, with bundles of cash carried on commercial flights and public transport, according to investigators.

“The group worked with contacts outside of their organisation to liaise with clients and receive the cash to be laundered,” Eurojust said. “Their contacts are linked to several commercial companies around the world.”

Spanish, Cypriot and German authorities worked together to bring down the ring—with experts from Europol helping to trace the flow of illicit cryptocurrencies between wallets.

Dozens of raids then took place, with 20 arrests made in Spain, two in France and one in Slovenia.

Late last year, the U.K. National Crime Agency exposed a similar scheme on a much larger scale through “Operation Destabilize.”

It resulted in more than 80 arrests and the seizure of $25.5 million in cash and crypto after the Russian money laundering operations were disrupted.

In that case, digital assets were being used to reinvest in illicit businesses—enabling drugs and firearms to be purchased by gangs without physical cash moving across borders.

The borderless nature of crypto means law enforcement agencies in multiple jurisdictions are now having to collaborate to thwart criminal gangs, with investigations often taking years to complete.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.

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Law and Order

Paradigm, EFF Rally Behind Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm Amid Legal Battle

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Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm’s cause has drawn support from the likes of venture capital firm Paradigm and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) as he faces prosecution in the U.S. for allegedly facilitating money laundering through the Ethereum-based crypto mixer.

Paradigm announced that it would donate $1.25 million to support Storm’s legal defense, while the EFF has filed an amicus brief in support of the developer.

Announcing the contribution to Storm’s legal fund, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang called the charges an attack on software developers.

“The prosecution’s case threatens to hold software developers criminally liable for the bad acts of third parties, which would have a chilling effect in crypto and beyond,” Huang wrote in a tweet.

Acknowledging Paradigm’s contribution, Storm expressed his “enormous gratitude” to the VC firm in a tweet. He added that, “Your support means the world, not just to me, but to every developer fighting for fairness and innovation. Thank you for believing in me and defending the principles that matter!”

Civil liberties nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), meanwhile, has filed an amicus brief in support of Storm, warning that his prosecution could stifle privacy-focused software development.̉

“The EFF pointed out that holding developers responsible for how their tools are used is an overreach, comparing privacy protocols like Tornado Cash to physical cash or encryption tools that serve legitimate purposes but can also be misused,” the EFF wrote.

It added: “The government’s prosecution raises larger civil liberties concerns that could chill the future development of privacy-enhancing technologies more broadly.”

It also criticized the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in the case, saying that laws regulating such technologies should be enacted by Congress, not through broad interpretations of existing sanctions laws.

Decrypt has reached out to the EFF for comment and will update this article should they respond.

The Tornado Cash prosecution

In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Tornado Cash founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov with money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

With Storm’s trial set for April 14, 2025, the outcome of his case could have far-reaching implications for financial privacy and software development.

The case comes amid shifting legal ground for Tornado Cash.

In September, a New York court denied Storm’s motion to dismiss his charges, stating that while parts of Tornado Cash were immutable, other aspects remained under developer control.

But just last week, a Texas court dealt a blow to the regulators as it overturned U.S. Treasury sanctions on the coin mixer, ruling that immutable smart contracts do not qualify as “property” under the IEEPA.

This follows a similar ruling in November 2024, where the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court found that sanctioning immutable smart contracts exceeded the Treasury’s legal reach.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.

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Law and Order

South Dakota Seeks to Establish Bitcoin Reserve as More States Join the Trend

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South Dakota is expected to begin debating a bill that seeks to add Bitcoin to its financial reserves, a move that would officially recognize the crypto as part of the state’s assets.

“I am proud to say I will be bringing a bill in the South Dakota House that would create a strategic Bitcoin reserve,” Logan Manhart, South Dakota’s State Representative, wrote on X on Tuesday. “Now is one of the few chances government has at being proactive.”

A timeframe for when the bill would be introduced into the state’s House of Representatives was not provided. Decrypt has reached out to learn more about the timing and details of the bill.

The state-level push for Bitcoin reserves is closely tied to President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, which has led to renewed interest in integrating Bitcoin into U.S. financial policy. 

South Dakota’s move comes as at least a dozen other states plan to introduce or have proposed similar legislation, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Arizona. 

Pennsylvania was one of the earliest to introduce a proposal in November 2024, followed by Florida, Texas, and Ohio in December. 

More states have since joined the effort, with North Dakota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Wyoming, and Utah submitting Bitcoin reserve proposals in January 2025. 

Arizona has gone a step further, approving the first leg of a Bitcoin reserve bill in its legislature that will allow up to 10% of public funds to be allocated should it pass. 

On his campaign trail in November, Trump pledged to establish a national Bitcoin stockpile to position the U.S. as the crypto capital of the planet.

That promise took a concrete step forward last week when Trump signed his first crypto-focused executive order, creating the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets—a team tasked with exploring policies, including a national crypto reserve.

The group, led by the White House Crypto & AI Czar, will assess the reserve’s feasibility alongside other crypto-related policies.

Sacks recently commented on the possibility of a Bitcoin reserve, stating, “Yeah, we’re going to evaluate that. We have not decided to do it yet, but we need to study that.”

With Trump’s administration actively supporting crypto adoption, expectations are high that more states—and even other nations—will follow suit. 

Meanwhile, countries such as Brazil, Japan, Poland, and Russia are exploring similar reserve strategies as Bitcoin’s role continues to rise on the global financial stage.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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Elon Musk’s DOGE Exploring Blockchain for Government Efficiency: Bloomberg

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The Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk, is reportedly considering the use of a public blockchain to bring transparency and other potential benefits to government operations and spending.

That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported Saturday that Musk’s DOGE agency is holding conversations with representatives from multiple existing public blockchains, according to sources close to the conversations.

No specific chains are mentioned in the report, though Bloomberg reports that DOGE is keen on using a blockchain—an immutable, public ledger—to monitor government spending and handle payments, handle data, and perhaps even “manage buildings” under the U.S. government’s purview.

DOGE—which appears to share its acronym with the ticker of Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin—was discussed on President Donald Trump’s campaign trail and then made official following his November election win. Musk was supposed to co-run the effort with Vivek Ramaswamy, but the latter billionaire and Bitcoin fan departed this week for an apparent run at Ohio governor.

Musk has said that DOGE aims to cut $2 trillion from the federal government via a combination of budget cuts and layoffs, though he has since backtracked and said that $1 trillion is more likely.

This week, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to Musk that DOGE appears to be a “venue for corruption,” and suggested $2 trillion worth of spending cuts that wouldn’t impact essential programs or raise taxes for middle-class Americans.

Musk is an avowed fan of Dogecoin, while Trump has launched NFTs across Ethereum scaling network Polygon as well as Bitcoin, and debuted his official meme coin on Solana last week. However, there’s no word yet on which chain or chains might be used in the potential DOGE blockchain initiative.

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