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In a bid to curb crimes committed on the web, Washington has just laid restrictions on the cryptocurrency exchange platform known as SOX.
Reports indicate that the implementation was due to the U.S. government’s belief that it is involved in conducting redemption payments.
Cryptocurrency platform SOX just got socked
The U.S. Treasury is said to have issued such a sanction, though the government agency did not disclose as to whether the SOX platform was connected to any crimes. However, the Treasury revealed that around 40 percent of SOX’s transaction history may well seem to be linked with unlawful entities. Further, the agency released a report about the platform stating that some virtual currency trades are exploited by malicious actors, while others facilitate illegal transactions in the SOX case for illicit gain.
Additionally, the report also noted that the U.S. designation is essential since it represents a huge step by Washington to battle money laundering, which according to them is the root cause in committing digital crimes.
This recent sanction from the U.S. Treasury has resulted in the banning of SOX’s assets that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction. This alongside another ruling that prevents U.S. citizens from trading on the platform in question.
The SOX platform is reported to be registered in the Czech Republic and has branches in the Middle East and Russia. Further, it was also noted that in bitcoins (BTC) alone, SOX has received well above $160 million in scammers, ransomware parties, and even darknet market operators.
The U.S. issues a warning
With that in mind, the U.S. has issued a warning to individuals, and companies who pay ransom to hackers to retrieve their files and data that they too could be facing the same fate as the cryptocurrency exchange platform.
Bitcoin in illegal dealings
The Department of Homeland Security, on the other hand, stated that about $350 million was paid to extortionists in 2020 alone. Now that’s a 300 percent increase from 2019. U.S. officials claim that majority of these cyber-attacks are said to have originated in Russia, though Moscow has denied such allegations.
As for U.S. President Joe Biden, cybersecurity is one of his management’s task forces after a series of cyber-attacks especially the utilization of cryptocurrencies, which revealed several vulnerabilities. In July, Biden called on his Russian counterpart – Vladimir Putin to take action against ransomware attacks launched in that country.
Cryptos like bitcoin have been constantly being criticized by regulators for their illegal uses. The ransom money from businesses or local communities is used by these cyber do-no-gooders to recover their barred services.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
