The White House has published a blog post titled “The Administration’s Roadmap to Mitigate Cryptocurrencies’ Risks” authored by four advisors. The blog lays out the “first-ever framework for developing digital assets in a safe, responsible way, while addressing the risks they pose.”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the judge in FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's case to ban him from communicating with current or former employees due to allegations of witness tampering.

The South Korean Ministry of Justice has announced plans to use a cryptocurrency tracking system to counter money laundering initiatives and recover funds linked to criminal activity.

 Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• White House Publishes ‘Roadmap’ to Mitigate Crypto Risks
• DOJ Calls to Stop Bankman-Fried From Contacting FTX Employees
• South Korea to Use Crypto-Tracking System
• Examining Stablecoins Depegs with CryptoCompare’s Stablecoins & CBDCs Report

White House Publishes ‘Roadmap’ to Mitigate Crypto Risks

The White House has published a blog post titled “The Administration’s Roadmap to Mitigate Cryptocurrencies’ Risks” authored by four advisors. The blog lays out the “first-ever framework for developing digital assets in a safe, responsible way while addressing the risks they pose.”

The post was published under the National Economic Council (NEC), an Executive Office of the President established to advise the president on U.S. and global economic policy. It identifies a number of risks, including crypto entities ignoring financial regulations and risk controls, as well as fraud, conflicts of interest, and inadequate disclosures.

The authors said that “there is poor cybersecurity across the industry,” which has allowed North Korea to “steal over a billion dollars to fund its aggressive missile program.”

The post’s authors encourage regulators to keep on using their authority to “ramp up enforcement where appropriate and issue new guidance where needed.” They wrote:

“The events of the past year underscore that more is needed. Agencies have redoubled their efforts to fight fraud … Enforcement agencies are devoting increased resources to combatting illicit activities involving digital assets.”

The roadmap also calls on Congress to step up efforts in regulating the cryptocurrency sector, and suggests it could strengthen transparency and disclosure requirements for crypto firms. It also claimed that the limited exposure of traditional financial firms in the market prevented it [crypto] from affecting the broader financial system last year.

DOJ Calls to Stop Bankman-Fried From Contacting FTX Employees

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the judge in FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's case to ban him from communicating with current or former employees due to allegations of witness tampering.

In a letter, the DOJ claimed that the former CEO of FTX’s current general counsel, among others, were using the encrypted messaging app Signal to communicate. Bankman-Fried allegedly texted the general counsel:

"I would really love to reconnect and see if there's a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other.”

Prosecutors have requested that Bankman-Fried’s bond conditions be changed so he is no longer allowed to contact employees, who the DOJ considers potential witnesses, without a lawyer present.

The letter also asks for Bankman-Fried to be restricted from using encrypted messaging apps that automatically delete messages after a set period of time, like Signal.

The DOJ has argued that efforts from Bankman-Fried to “improve his relationship with potential witnesses that may testify against him may itself constitute witness tampering,” as if he were to “'vet' his version of relevant events with potential witnesses, that might have the effect of discouraging witnesses from testifying in a manner contrary to the defendant's narrative."

South Korea to Use Crypto-Tracking System

The South Korean Ministry of Justice has announced plans to use a cryptocurrency tracking system to counter money laundering initiatives and recover funds linked to criminal activity.

Named the “Virtual Currency Tracking System,” it’s set to be used to monitor transaction history on the blockchain, extract information related to transactions, and check the source of funds.

The South Korean ministry is planning on launching the system in the first half of the year, while planning to develop an independent tracking and analysis system in the second half.

South Korean authorities have previously established an agreement with five local cryptocurrency trading platforms to cooperate in criminal investigations.

Examining Stablecoins Depegs with CryptoCompare’s Stablecoins & CBDCs Report

Concerns about Huobi's solvency, partially owned by Justin Sun, coincided with stablecoin depegging in the Tron network. USDD, backed by TRX, BTC, USDT, and USDC, dropped to $0.973, while USDJ rose to $1.126 in January.

 Gemini's GUSD lost some of its value after the bankruptcy of Genesis caused a struggle to recover Gemini Earn users' funds. NeutrinoUSD has been off its peg since September 2022.

Read more on CryptoCompare’s latest Stablecoins & CBDCs Report

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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