Cryptocurrency news
President Trump pardons BitMex and executives. On March 27, President Donald Trump issued “full and unconditional” pardons to HDR Global Trading Limited, operator of the BitMex cryptocurrency exchange, and four of the firm’s former executives – Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, and Gregory Dwyer https://elmergernaleartworks.com/. The pardons relate to 2024 and 2022 guilty pleas to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and failure to maintain adequate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs. The individuals had been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay collectively more than $30 million, while HDR had been ordered to pay a $100 million fine in addition to $100 million to settle registration failures with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). For more information on BitMex, see our prior issues: January 2025, July 2024, May 2022, and March 2022.
DOJ disrupts Garantex crypto exchange. On March 7, the DOJ announced charges against two administrators operating a crypto money laundering service in a “a coordinated action with Germany and Finland to disrupt and take down the online infrastructure used to operate Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations – including terrorist organizations – and sanctions violations.” The DOJ alleged that Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions, and the indictment filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia charged Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov and Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The coordinated action resulted in law enforcement seizing Garantex servers and freezing $26 million in funds.
DOJ announces shift in digital asset enforcement priorities. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum to departmental employees on April 7 that disbands the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and states that the DOJ “is not a digital assets regulator.” The memorandum shifts DOJ enforcement priorities from “regulation by prosecution” by “target virtual currency exchanges, missing and tumbling services, and offline wallets for the acts of their end users.” The shift changes the priorities to “investigations and prosecutions that involve conduct victimizing investors, including embezzlement and misappropriation of customers’ funds on exchanges, digital asset investment scams, fake digital asset development projects…, hacking of exchanges and decentralized autonomous organizations resulting in the theft of funds, and exploiting vulnerabilities in smart contracts,” and the use of digital assets in furtherance of unlawful conduct, such as human trafficking, cartels, fentanyl production, terrorism, and smuggling. The memorandum orders all ongoing investigations inconsistent with this directive to be closed.
Cryptocurrency news april 30 2025
New York AG urges Congress to pass federal legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. On April 10, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass federal legislation to strengthen regulations on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. In the letter, Attorney General James warned that “the lack of strong federal regulations on cryptocurrencies increases the risk of fraud, criminal activity, and financial instability.” She further argued that “federal regulations would bolster America’s national security, strengthen its financial markets, and protect investors from cryptocurrency scams, which now account for 10 percent of all financial fraud and 50 percent of all losses from financial fraud.” The letter came in response to the US DOJ memorandum disbanding the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and shifting DOJ enforcement priorities regarding digital assets.
On April 10, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC issued a statement (Staff Statement) expressing its observations regarding certain disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws regarding the offering and registration of securities in the crypto asset markets.
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California DFPI issues proposed regulations on DFAL. On April 4, the California DFPI issued proposed regulations to implement the state Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL), which requires digital asset companies operating in the state to obtain a license, maintain records, and submit reports to the state. Among other things, the regulations exempt from the state money transmission act “any money transmission of legal tender occurring in, associated with, or related to the normal, typical, or customary performance of digital financial asset business activity.” Comments must be submitted by May 19.
DOJ disrupts Garantex crypto exchange. On March 7, the DOJ announced charges against two administrators operating a crypto money laundering service in a “a coordinated action with Germany and Finland to disrupt and take down the online infrastructure used to operate Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations – including terrorist organizations – and sanctions violations.” The DOJ alleged that Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions, and the indictment filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia charged Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov and Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The coordinated action resulted in law enforcement seizing Garantex servers and freezing $26 million in funds.
Cryptocurrency market news
Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s oldest and most valued crypto, rose above the $106,000 mark early Tuesday. Other popular altcoins — including the likes of Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC) — landed in the green across the board as the overall Market Fear & Greed Index stood at 68 (Greed) out of 100, as per CoinMarketCap data. AAVE became the biggest gainer, with a 24-hour jump of nearly 26 percent. FARTCOIN turned out to be the biggest loser today, with a 24-hour dip of nearly 2 percent.
Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, said, “Bitcoin is trading around $105,000 – $106,000, showing a slight positive gain over the last 24 hours. Some analysts anticipate a “golden cross” pattern on Bitcoin’s daily chart, which could signal further bullish momentum. JP Morgan CEO has announced that bank will allow its clients to purchase Bitcoin, which is seen as a big boost from retail and institutional adoption point of view.”
Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO and co-founder of Unocoin, said, “Bitcoin is trading above $106,000, marking a historic phase of price discovery post-halving. Momentum remains bullish with strong institutional inflows and diminishing exchange reserves. Key resistance lies at $108,400, with breakout potential toward $113,000. Support is holding at $101,300, where buyers are visibly defending dips. RSI is near overbought, suggesting short-term consolidation before the next leg up. Open interest and funding rates indicate leveraged longs building across major exchanges. Market sentiment remains highly optimistic, with forecasts targeting $120,000+ within days. Unless macro shocks disrupt momentum, Bitcoin appears to be entering a vertical accumulation phase—driven by supply crunch and institutional conviction.”
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CoinSwitch Markets Desk noted, “Bitcoin surged past the $106K mark following Moody’s decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating from AAA to Aa1. The downgrade—driven by concerns over the country’s ballooning $36.87 trillion sovereign debt—sparked renewed investor unease, reinforcing BTC’s narrative as a macro hedge against traditional financial instability. As a result, Bitcoin’s dominance climbed by 4.07%. Ethereum wasn’t far behind in the rally, jumping 6.8% in the past 24 hours and crossing the $2,500 level for the first time in weeks.”
A US federal judge has rejected a US$50 million settlement deal jointly proposed by Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), calling the motion “procedurally improper” and outside her jurisdiction.
