Weekly Crypto Roundup: UK’s crackdown, Iran’s CBDC, and crypto carbon credits
The Hindu
The week after Ethereum’s Merge event saw macroeconomic factors pulling prices lower, even though many Ether investors were hoping for a surge.
On Friday, Bitcoin was close to falling under the $19,000 level while Ether was hovering above the $1,300 level.
Law enforcement bodies around the world are concerned by the role cryptocurrency plays in money laundering. Sanctioned platforms like Tornado Cash even offer ways to “mix” legitimate and stolen crypto funds to make tracing them more difficult. The UK on Thursday introduced the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill in Parliament to address these challenges.
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According to a UK government announcement, the bill gives law enforcement more powers to obtain data from businesses in order to crack down on money laundering and terrorist financing.
The reforms come after the UK’s Metropolitan Police reported a spike in cryptocurrency seizures in 2021. The new law would allow law enforcement agencies in the country to seize, freeze, and recover crypto assets.
The statement noted that crypto has helped launder funds related to fraud, drugs, and cybercrime.
Iran is in the news as protestors rage against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in custody of the country’s morality police. The sanctions-hit country, however, announced on Wednesday that it was beginning a pilot launch of the “crypto-rial” central bank digital currency (CBDC).