As a crackdown against scam-plagued crypto ATMs widens, one critical aspect of the industry has escaped scrutiny: the crypto giants that have enabled these operations through massive transfers of bitcoin. #coinlaundry

Amid a scam crackdown, crypto giants keep fueling bitcoin ATMs - ICIJ

As governments seek to ban the machines, bitcoin ATMs remain entwined with cryptocurrency industry's most mainstream players.

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The Trump admin is giving crypto firms special banking licenses that shield them from state regulators that have for years played a key role in policing dirty money in the industry www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Trump administration curbs state oversight of crypto industry - ICIJ

The shift offers companies immunity from certain regulations — and, critics say, weakens protections for scam victims.

icij.org

The Justice Department recently announced its seizing of $15 billion in Bitcoin, the US's largest ever asset forfeiture. But questions are swirling the case. For one, we found DOJ is relying on some apparently bogus evidence: www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Questions swirl around US plans for record $15B Prince Group crypto seizure - ICIJ

Victim advocates fear the funds seized from the Prince Group’s founder will be stashed away for the U.S.’s new strategic cryptocurrency reserve.

icij.org

In October, the U.S. Justice Department announced the seizure of a cache of bitcoin then valued at $15B. Five months later, questions and frustrations have begun to swirl around the department’s handling of the seized funds, tied to the Cambodia-based Prince Group.

Questions swirl around US plans for record $15B Prince Group crypto seizure - ICIJ

Victim advocates fear the funds seized from the Prince Group’s founder will be stashed away for the U.S.’s new strategic cryptocurrency reserve.

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IRS criminal referrals on big corporations and ultrawealthy individuals plummeted during Trump’s first year The IRS office the audits billionaires and large corporations referred *at most* two cases to criminal investigators in fiscal year 2025. www.icij.org/news/2026/03... @icij.org

IRS criminal referrals against big corporations and ultrawealthy plummeted during Trump’s first year - ICIJ

New data shows how a key office hammered by layoffs and cost-cutting referred at most two cases in fiscal year 2025.

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"The reduction in supervisory staff at the IRS matches a trend we’ve seen across AML enforcement agencies. This sends the signal that the US is open to dirty money. It undermines our national security and market integrity." Erica Hanichak, @factcoalition.bsky.social

Spencer Woodman@spencerwoodman.bsky.social · 6mo ago

As cryptocurrency use in the United States surges, the number of civil investigators assigned to review safeguards against dirty money in the industry plummeted last year to the lowest level since at least 2017 www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

As cryptocurrency use in the United States surges, the number of civil investigators assigned to review safeguards against dirty money in the industry plummeted last year to the lowest level since at least 2017 www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

As crypto industry expands, U.S. slashes office examining dirty money safeguards of cryptocurrency exchanges - ICIJ

The number of IRS staff assigned to oversee anti-money laundering practices at the firms dropped to its lowest level in nearly decade.

icij.org

According to several law enforcement sources in Belgium and other members of the European Union, Binance has stopped responding to all requests from police, public prosecutors and investigating judges when data is sought related to suspicious accounts www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Undercover crypto transactions, shady multimillion-dollar schemes, and more Coin Laundry stories from ICIJ’s partners - ICIJ

To investigate the global crypto industry, ICIJ’s media partners stepped inside a shadow economy awash with dirty money.

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How ICIJ traced hundreds of millions from Huione Group to major crypto exchanges www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

How ICIJ traced hundreds of millions from Huione Group to major crypto exchanges

ICIJ's trailblazing blockchain analysis has uncovered how cryptocurrency giants Binance and OKX are key conduits of illicit transactions.

icij.org

Cryptocurrency giant Tether is wildly profitable. Can it do more to stop financial crime? We examined a single crypto wallet address that moved more than $1.4 billion in Tether tokens over a matter of weeks and the wake of destruction it left: www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Cryptocurrency giant Tether is wildly profitable. Can it do more to stop financial crime? - ICIJ

At least $1.4 billion of its tokens passed through a crypto wallet linked to scams, hacks, and human trafficking.

icij.org

Latest in @icij.org Coin Laundry: @scillaa.bsky.social on the inner workings of HTX, the crypto exchange associated with billionaire Justin Sun. How beneficial is the vaunted transparency of blockchains when paired with complex layers of obfuscation? www.icij.org/investigatio...

Hunt for missing millions unmasks one crypto exchange hidden inside another - ICIJ

Kyrrex exploited technology and shell companies while serving suspected fraudsters and pro-Russian military activists, even as its owners claimed the exchange followed anti-money laundering rules.

icij.org

Join us for a live, free virtual event on Thursday, Nov. 20 and hear directly from @spencerwoodman.bsky.social, the lead reporter of The #CoinLaundry, how the crypto industry profits off proceeds of scams, theft and other crimes. Register here:

Inside The Coin Laundry: A Conversation with ICIJ Journalists

Join us for a live, virtual event exploring ICIJ's latest investigation.

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Our reporting on cryptocurrency is just beginning. Stay tuned. Do you have a noteworthy and solidly attributed cryptocurrency address to share? Do you work at a major blockchain analytics firm? Contacts in bio www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

The Coin Laundry, a global cryptocurrency investigation

How the crypto boom minted a shadow economy that thrives on crime — and left a trail of devastated victims.

icij.org

ICIJ spent months investigating a growing and loosely-regulated industry that converts big sums of Tether into physical cash, often with few questions asked www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Here's something I've been wondering about for a few months. Anyone know who this is? 0xA06Ad2e0339375124D255F1fAb201964eF707E18

Binance, whose billionaire founder was just pardoned by Trump, kept financial ties with a group that launders crypto for North Korean hackers and human trafficking compounds even after Treasury Dept raised red flag on it earlier this year: www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers

An ICIJ investigation traced tens of thousands of transactions and found crypto platforms awash with dirty money.

icij.org

Binance, whose billionaire founder was just pardoned by Trump, kept financial ties with a group that laundered crypto for North Korean hackers and human trafficking compounds even after Treasury Dept raised red flag on it earlier this year: www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers

An ICIJ investigation traced tens of thousands of transactions and found crypto platforms awash with dirty money.

icij.org

Ever wonder whether the biggest crypto firms are linked up with a shadowy financial underworld awash in dirty money? We got you covered www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

‪ We combined undercover ops with blockchain analytics to expose a crypto-fueled shadow economy quietly operating all around you: www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

From Dubai to Toronto, inside the crypto-to-cash storefronts fueling money laundering’s new frontier

These shadowy operations have made it easier than ever to move dirty money around the world. One man is on a mission to expose them.

icij.org

$28 Billion in illicit crypto flows 🫰 The first part of @icij.org 's #CoinLaundry series is live: ICIJ & 37 partners investigated how #crypto companies empowered a shadow economy that thrives on crime. By @spencerwoodman.bsky.social & team www.icij.org/investigatio...

Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers - ICIJ

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists traced tens of thousands of transactions and found major crypto trading platforms awash with dirty money.

icij.org

From Dubai to Toronto, my colleague @spencerwoodman.bsky.social dives in the world of crypto-to-cash storefronts fueling money laundering’s new frontier These shadowy operations have made it easier than ever to move dirty money around the world. #CoinLaundry www.icij.org/investigatio...

From Dubai to Toronto, inside the crypto-to-cash storefronts fueling money laundering’s new frontier - ICIJ

These shadowy operations have made it easier than ever to move dirty money around the world. One man is on a mission to expose them.

icij.org

Today @icij.org and 37 other newsrooms around the world are releasing one of the largest ever investigations into dirty money across the cryptocurrency industry. This is just the beginning of our work. www.icij.org/investigatio...

The Coin Laundry, a global cryptocurrency investigation

How the crypto boom minted a shadow economy that thrives on crime — and left a trail of devastated victims.

icij.org

The #CoinLaundry is coming soon. ICIJ’s latest investigation is a global collaboration between 38 media partners in 35 countries! Stay tuned for more on Monday! Sign up to get it straight to your inbox: buff.ly/yZk76B5

The IRS unit that audits billionaires lost 38 percent of its employees in DOGE cuts — a far higher loss rate than the IRS as a whole: icij.org/news/2025/03... @icij.org

The IRS unit that audits billionaires has lost 38% of its employees since January, new data shows - ICIJ

As Donald Trump and Elon Musk take a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy, the cuts at the IRS may be especially good news for America’s wealthiest taxpayers.

icij.org

I investigated millions of dollars in Covid-relief funds that poured into shell companies registered at a Wyoming storefront. Finding questionable recipients wasn't hard: www.icij.org/investigatio... @icij.org

After mass firings, the IRS is poised to close audits of wealthy taxpayers, according to agents www.icij.org/inside-icij/... @icij.org

After mass firings, the IRS is poised to close audits of wealthy taxpayers, agents say - ICIJ

The upheaval undermines the agency’s quest to tackle high-end tax cheating.

icij.org