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Elliptic’s data revealed Garantex executed over $60 billion in transactions since the U.S. and EU imposed sanctions in April 2022 allegedly for laundering funds tied to ransomware, darknet markets, and North Korean cyberattacks. Despite efforts to mask its wallet infrastructure, Elliptic’s report claims Garantex’s total transactions exceeded $96 billion, including moves by Russian elites to evade sanctions after the Ukraine invasion. The blockchain surveillance firm explained that the crypto exchange employed advanced cloaking techniques to evade detection, such as rapidly generating new wallet addresses and leveraging specific privacy tools. Elliptic developed proprietary analytics to identify Garantex-controlled wallets, uncovering transactions predominantly in the stablecoin USDT issued on the Tron blockchain. This methodology, Elliptic contends, enabled real-time sanctions screening for clients and investigators. Garantex purportedly laundered crypto from high-profile crimes, including $30 million from North Korea’s Lazarus Group-linked Horizon Bridge hack and funds tied to ransomware groups Conti, Lockbit, and Black Basta. It also reportedly facilitated tens of millions in darknet market deals, according to Elliptic’s tracing tools. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) cited Elliptic’s intelligence in its indictment, which highlighted Garantex’s role in aiding Russian oligarchs and illicit actors. The takedown follows recent incidents like the $1.4 billion Bybit theft, underscoring rogue exchanges’ role in global crime financing. Elliptic emphasized the technological arms race between bad actors and compliance firms, noting other sanctioned entities now mimic Garantex’s tactics. Its tools, the company asserted, remain integrated into crypto businesses’ compliance programs to flag illicit transactions. Elliptic’s news follows Tether freezing millions of USDT held on Garantex, the exchange halting operations, and the U.S. government seizing its website. 免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。

U.S. and allies shut down Garantex crypto exchange domains Law enforcement in the U.S., Germany and Finland seized domains linked to sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex, citing its role in money laundering. The United States Department of Justice also charged two…

Federal authorities are working to return over $8.2 million in seized cryptocurrency to victims of an investment fraud scheme that targeted individuals across multiple states. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio has filed a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of 8,207,578 tether (USDT), which was recovered through an FBI investigation into fraudulent schemes. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) explained in a Feb. 28 announcement that, according to court documents: The FBI has identified 33 victims of an investment fraud scheme across the country … In total, victims lost approximately $4.9 million. “Five more accounts have also been found to be affected and the FBI is attempting to identify the respective owners. The victims associated with the additional accounts have lost approximately $1,071,086,” the DOJ added. Investigators determined that scammers initially gained victims’ trust through deceptive text messages before persuading them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms. One of the victims, a woman from Lake County, Ohio, lost her entire life savings of $663,352 after being manipulated by a scammer posing as a friend. She was guided to open a cryptocurrency account on Crypto.com and was convinced to transfer funds to what she believed was a legitimate investment platform. When she attempted to withdraw her money, she was met with fabricated tax demands and threats against her family. After realizing the scam, she reported the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, prompting an investigation by the FBI’s Cleveland Division. Blockchain analysis traced portions of the stolen funds to three cryptocurrency addresses, leading federal authorities to seize the USDT tokens in November 2024. The funds were transferred to a law enforcement-controlled wallet with the assistance of Tether Limited. Through the forfeiture complaint filed on Feb. 27, the U.S. government seeks legal authority to redistribute the seized cryptocurrency to the victims. The DOJ noted: If successful in this forfeiture action, the United States would seek to return the stolen funds to the victims. The complaint asserts that additional funds held in the fraudulent accounts were proceeds of financial crimes and should also be forfeited. While the claims in the complaint must still be proven in court, the Justice Department stressed that the ultimate goal of the action is to return the stolen assets to those who were defrauded. 免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。

The biggest post in #Bitcoin history after the US State of #Texas is now a new user of Bitcoin to store value instead of the central banks. This is the best value store in the history of man with a trustworthy ledger. Thats the nutshell. Now move on to this: 20 U.S. states with the lowest budget deficits Wyoming - Surplus from energy revenues; small population. Governor: Mark Gordon (Republican) North Dakota - Oil-driven surpluses; strong fiscal health. Governor: Doug Burgum (Republican) (Note: Burgum’s term ends in 2025; Kelly Armstrong, also Republican, takes office later in 2025, but as of now, it’s Burgum.) Utah - Fiscal conservatism; $1.2 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Spencer Cox (Republican) Tennessee - No income tax; $1.5 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Bill Lee (Republican) Idaho - Growth and low spending; consistent surpluses. Governor: Brad Little (Republican) Texas - No income tax; $32.7 billion surplus in 2023. Governor: Greg Abbott (Republican) Florida - Tourism and no income tax; $17.6 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Ron DeSantis (Republican) South Dakota - No income tax; steady surpluses. Governor: Kristi Noem (Republican) Nebraska - Agricultural base; $1.2 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Jim Pillen (Republican) Delaware - Recent surpluses (e.g., $1.4 billion in 2024). Governor: John Carney (Democrat) (Note: Carney’s term ends January 2025; Matt Meyer, Democrat, was elected in 2024 and takes office later in 2025, but as of now, it’s Carney.) Iowa - Balanced budgets; $1.9 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Kim Reynolds (Republican) Georgia - Economic growth; $6.4 billion surplus in 2023. Governor: Brian Kemp (Republican) Alabama - Low spending; steady surpluses. Governor: Kay Ivey (Republican) Missouri - Moderate growth; $4.9 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Mike Parson (Republican) (Note: Parson’s term ends January 2025; Mike Kehoe, also Republican, takes office later in 2025, but as of now, it’s Parson.) West Virginia - Energy revenue; $1.1 billion surplus in 2023. Governor: Jim Justice (Republican) North Carolina - Growth; $4.7 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Roy Cooper (Democrat) (Note: Cooper’s term ends January 2025; Josh Stein, Democrat, takes office later in 2025, but as of now, it’s Cooper.) Minnesota - $2.4 billion surplus projected for 2024–2025. Governor: Tim Walz (Democrat) Washington - Tech economy; $1.6 billion surplus in 2023. Governor: Jay Inslee (Democrat) (Note: Inslee’s term ends January 2025; Bob Ferguson, Democrat, takes office later in 2025, but as of now, it’s Inslee.) Montana - Energy and tourism; $1.5 billion surplus in 2023. Governor: Greg Gianforte (Republican) Oklahoma - Oil revenue; $1.1 billion surplus in 2022. Governor: Kevin Stitt (Republican)

President Donald Trump’s Sunday crypto reserve announcement has drawn some notable criticism from notable leaders within the crypto and tech industry, who made up his supporters during the presidential campaigns. According to a post on social media platform X by Brian Armstrong, the richest American within the crypto space with a net worth of $9.6 billion and a strong supporter of Donald Trump, only Bitcoin deserved a spot in the strategic crypto reserve as a potential “successor to gold” for the government. Backlash from Crypto Supporters US President Donald Trump revealed on March 2, 2025, through an executive order that he had told his administration to begin creating a national crypto reserve to solidify the country’s leadership within the crypto space. According to the President’s statement, the crypto reserve would include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). Some of Donald Trump’s tech allies have reacted negatively to including altcoins since most expected the strategic crypto reserve to focus on Bitcoin alone. According to critics, the inclusion of altcoins would complicate the crypto reserve initiative and cause unintended market biases. Including Altcoins Raises Concerns The Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise, Jeff Park, is critical of the decision and has called it a grave political miscalculation, warning that including altcoins could raise concerns about Trump’s administration’s favoritism, whether the selection was made objectively or not. Park stated: “[The] big problem here is optics. When you include altcoins whose use case is too nascent to be deemed ‘nationally strategic,’ you risk the assumption of inside dealing even if it were patently false. This is politically negative, even among a subset of crypto enthusiasts.” Another harsh criticism came from Joe Lonsdale, an unabashed supporter of Donald Trump, the billionaire co-founder of AI-focused defense contractor Palantir. In his reply to Trump’s post, he stated: “It should be kept to a minimum. It’s wrong to steal my money for grift on the left; it’s also wrong to tax me for crypto bro schemes.” To the Defense of Trump Coming to the defense of Donald following the skepticism associated with including altcoins in the crypto reserve was venture capitalist Davis Sacks, who has been tapped to become the White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar. Sacks specifically took exception to Lonsdale’s comment, saying it was premature for anyone to jump to conclusions. It should be noted that Lonsdale and Sacks belong to the same conversation circle within the tech world, with other prominent members being Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. Sacks stated on X: “Nobody announced a tax or a spending program […] maybe you should wait to find out what’s being proposed.” Winklevoss Roots for Bitcoin Another Trump supporter who joined the Monday chorus of criticisms is Bitcoin investor Tyler Winklevoss. Last November, the Gemini exchange CEO asked Americans to vote for Trump if they cared about “the future of crypto, free speech, justice, liberty, and democracy.” However, commenting on the inclusion of altcoins, he stated: “I have nothing against XRP, SOL, or ADA, but I do not think they are suitable for a Strategic Reserve […] only one digital asset in the world right now meets the bar, and that digital asset is bitcoin.” Conclusion The reactions that have followed the inclusion of altcoins in the proposed crypto reserve come only a few weeks into Trump’s administration, showing how fast statements can activate the outrage machine. It would be interesting to see how the White House Summit scheduled for Friday in the White House will go, considering that investors are eagerly awaiting the outcome. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What is Trump’s crypto reserve? On Sunday, the US President announced on his Truth Social platform that the federal government would establish a reserve by stockpiling five tokens. What coins are in the crypto reserve? Trump revealed that the “Crypto Strategic Reserve” will include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. How would a reserve benefit the crypto industry? Supporters believe the reserve could legitimize crypto as a diversification strategy as the industry tries to solidify its standing in traditional market structures. Does Trump have the authority to create a crypto reserve? The President does not necessarily have the authority to modify the federal budget via an executive order. Appendix: Glossary to Key Terms Executive order: A rule or order issued by the President to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law Crypto reserve: A national stockpile of digital assets created under a federal regulatory framework on Digital Asset Markets Bitcoin: A digital currency that operates free of any central control or the oversight of banks or governments Altcoin: A cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin References News Bitcoin The Hill