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According to Zhejiang Daily, recently, the Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau successfully dismantled multiple criminal gangs smuggling virtual currency "mining machines" through in-depth operations and meticulous investigations, effectively cutting off an illegal industrial chain.Previously, during a routine inspection of a batch of imported express shipments declared as "industrial blockers," Ningbo Customs discovered that the actual goods did not match the declaration and were, in fact, virtual currency "mining machines." Customs officers quickly transferred this lead to the anti-smuggling department. After receiving the report, the Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau immediately assembled a task force by drawing on elite personnel, and through data analysis and clue investigation, gradually clarified the organizational structure and operational model of the criminal network. When the timing was right, they decisively struck, simultaneously conducting net-seizing operations in Dongguan, Shenzhen, and other locations, successfully dismantling multiple smuggling gangs of mining machines.Upon investigation, it was confirmed that this series of cases seized over 400 illegal entry mining machines of brands such as Ant L9 and Ice River KS3. The investigation revealed that the smuggling gang led by Liao, in order to make illegal profits, procured "mining machines" from overseas suppliers, disassembled the whole machines, and misreported the product names to smuggle them into the country through international express channels from ports in Ningbo, Guangzhou, and other places. After the goods entered the country, the gang reassembled them, either selling them directly domestically or transporting them to hidden "mining sites" in Xinjiang, Hunan, and other places to engage in illegal virtual currency "mining" activities. At the same time, they utilized virtual currencies like USDT for cross-border payment settlements to evade financial supervision.

According to Arkham monitoring, the U.S. government transferred 319 ETH, 643,000 DAI, and 290,000 USDT from the seized funds of FTX Alameda to Coinbase Prime.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, the U.S. government sent 319 ETH (approximately $673,000) and $933,774 worth of USDT, DAI, and USDC from the seized funds of FTX Alameda to Coinbase.

According to Hongxing News, the police in Linyi, Shandong recently dismantled a telecom fraud gang targeting minors, seizing about 140,000 yuan in illegal gains and 20,000 in virtual currency on site. Preliminary investigations have confirmed that the gang has carried out over 200 fraud cases nationwide, involving a huge amount of money.The police disclosed that the criminal gang used "free game skins and equipment" as bait to lure minors into using their parents' phones and remotely controlling the victims' devices through screen sharing to carry out transfer fraud. The stolen money was then laundered in batches through methods such as mobile phone top-ups, electricity bills, and property fee payments. The upstream fraud platform settled funds through virtual currency, and the suspects took about 20% of the fraud amount as their share. It is reported that the gang leader had previously traveled to Myanmar to engage in fraudulent activities and has strong counter-investigation experience. The case is still under further investigation.

According to the Zhejiang Daily, the Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau in Zhejiang, China, recently cracked multiple cases of smuggling virtual currency mining machines, dismantling several criminal gangs and seizing over 400 mining machines of models such as Ant L9 and Ice River KS3.The report states that the involved gangs misrepresented the mining machines as "industrial block devices" and smuggled them into the country through international express channels from ports in Ningbo, Guangzhou, and other locations. They then reassembled the machines and sold them domestically or transported them to mining sites in Xinjiang, Hunan, and other areas for hosting and mining.Investigators stated that the relevant gangs also used USDT for cross-border payment settlements to evade financial regulation.

Binance Research released a report stating that cryptocurrencies are not a haven for illegal finance. In 2025, approximately 11% of illegal cryptocurrency transaction volume was seized, which is about 55 times the recovery rate of fiat currency. This data comes from public reports by organizations such as Tether, Interpol, and T3 Financial Crime Unit, rather than estimates from a single entity.For reference, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that less than 1% of illegal fiat currency transaction volume is seized globally each year. Even excluding the Prince Group case (involving approximately $15 billion in Bitcoin), the remaining cryptocurrency seizures in 2025 are still about 10 times that of the traditional financial system. Additionally, SlowMist and PeckShield tracked that the proportion of stolen funds recovered or frozen in 2025 was between 8.3% and 13.2%. This reflects the rapid event response and close coordination among exchanges, issuers, and law enforcement agencies.The report concludes that cryptocurrency crime has not been resolved. However, the view that cryptocurrencies are particularly prone to fostering illegal activities is gradually being misunderstood.

Binance Research released a report stating that crypto assets are not a "safe haven for illegal funds." In 2025, approximately 11% of illegal fund flows in the global crypto sector have been seized or frozen, which is about 55 times the recovery rate of traditional fiat currency systems.The report pointed out that this data is derived from public law enforcement and freezing actions by institutions such as Tether, Interpol, and T3 Financial Crime Unit, rather than statistics from a single regulatory agency. At the same time, compared to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated recovery rate of less than 1% for illegal funds in the traditional financial system, the tracking and recovery efficiency in the crypto sector is significantly higher.The research also mentioned that even after excluding a single large case (involving about $15 billion in Bitcoin related to the Prince Group), the remaining crypto asset recovery rate in 2025 is still about 10 times that of the traditional financial system. Additionally, data from SlowMist and PeckShield shows that in 2025, approximately 8.3% to 13.2% of stolen crypto assets were successfully recovered or frozen, reflecting improved efficiency in security response and collaboration among exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and law enforcement agencies.The report concluded that while the issue of crypto crime still exists, the view that "crypto assets are inherently more suitable for illegal activities" is being weakened by on-chain transparency and regulatory collaboration capabilities.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. law firm Charles Gerstein has filed a petition in the Manhattan federal court, requesting an order for Tether to transfer over $344 million of frozen USDT to victims holding judgments against Iran for unpaid terrorism claims. These USDT were previously frozen by Tether after the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control identified the related Tron wallets as belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.The plaintiffs argue that since OFAC has designated the relevant wallets as owned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Tether has frozen the related tokens, Tether can fully reissue an equivalent amount of USDT to a wallet controlled by the victims' attorney. This case is part of a broader legal strategy by Charles Gerstein aimed at leveraging the ability of crypto platforms to freeze and transfer digital assets to enforce terrorism-related judgments. Unlike the Arbitrum case involving North Korean-linked hacker funds, in this case, OFAC has clearly designated the relevant wallets as owned

According to News1, the Korean National Tax Service is piloting the custody and management of seized virtual assets by entrusting them to private cryptocurrency custody institutions for the first time, with plans to run a trial until the end of this year.Major custody institutions in Korea, such as KODA, KDAC, Hecto WalletOne, BDACS, and InfiniteBlock, are all prepared to participate. Although the budget for this pilot project is only about $5,800, the industry believes that obtaining a reference case from the "Korean National Tax Service project" is of symbolic significance.

According to Crypto.news, the New South Wales police in Australia seized 52.3 bitcoins, worth approximately 5.7 million Australian dollars (4.1 million US dollars), in a law enforcement operation targeting the dark web market, making it one of the largest dark web cryptocurrency seizures in the country.This operation is part of the Strike Force Andalusia investigation that began in September 2024 and lasted 15 months. The police tracked a large bitcoin wallet holding proceeds from the dark web market, ultimately identifying two male suspects, aged 39 and 41, who are accused of supplying prohibited drugs and transferring over 100,000 Australian dollars in dark web-related cryptocurrency.

The New South Wales police in Australia seized 52.3 bitcoins, worth approximately 5.7 million AUD (about 4.1 million USD), during a 15-month investigation and arrested two suspects allegedly operating a dark web market in Ingleburn, Sydney.The police stated that the seized bitcoins are suspected to be related to illegal activities on the dark web associated with drug and weapon trafficking. This operation was carried out by the state crime command's cyber crime unit, Strike Force Andalusia, and is considered one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures related to the dark web in Australia. Meanwhile, AUSTRAC has recently strengthened its anti-money laundering regulations for domestic virtual asset service providers and cryptocurrency trading platforms.

According to Cointelegraph, Nominis analysis indicates that some of the "Iran-related" crypto wallets recently seized and frozen by the U.S. OFAC may not exhibit on-chain behavior characteristics consistent with the past operational patterns of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), suggesting the involvement of other state-level actors.Previously, the U.S. Treasury stated that over $340 million, totaling nearly $500 million in Iran-related crypto assets, had been frozen in the "Operation Economic Fury." Nominis CEO Snir Levi noted that historically, IRGC-related wallets typically spread funds across multiple addresses, maintain low balances in single wallets, avoid long-term holdings, and employ complex operations to reduce the risk of being frozen; however, the wallets that were seized this time show significant differences in their funding structure and behavior patterns.He believes this raises a critical question: how much of the frozen $340 million in assets is directly controlled by the IRGC, and how much involves broader infrastructures that may even overlap with financial networks of other countries.Levi also pointed out that organizations, including the IRGC and potential state-level actors from China, are continuously upgrading their use of blockchain infrastructure, and traditional static risk control labels are no longer sufficient; behavioral analysis and address clustering are becoming increasingly critical.

According to CoinDesk, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Basset stated that as part of the "Economic Fury Action," the U.S. has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto assets.

According to Cointelegraph, local police in Spain seized two cryptocurrency cold wallets containing approximately 400,000 euros (about 467,000 dollars) in assets during an operation against illegal comic distribution platforms.The operation was carried out by the Almería police in Spain, who have arrested three suspects and dismantled what is known as the country's largest Spanish-language piracy comic website. It is reported that the platform has been providing free pirated content since 2014, primarily profiting through advertisements, with total revenue exceeding 4 million euros over the past decade. Notably, the cold wallets involved were hidden inside a thermometer in the wall. The police have not yet disclosed whether they have obtained the relevant private keys or access to the funds.

The local police in Spain seized two cryptocurrency cold wallets containing approximately 400,000 euros (about 467,000 dollars) in assets during an operation against illegal comic distribution platforms.The operation was carried out by the Almería police in Spain, who have arrested three suspects and dismantled what is known as the country's largest Spanish-language piracy comic website. It is reported that this platform has been providing free pirated content since 2014, primarily profiting through advertisements, with total revenue exceeding 4 million euros over the past decade. Notably, the cold wallets involved were hidden inside a thermometer in the wall. The police have not yet disclosed whether they have obtained the relevant private keys or access to the funds.

DefiLlama founder 0xngmi posted on platform X, stating that after verifying the data, if the funds seized by Arbitrum are prioritized for use in the AAVE market on Arbitrum, Aave will have no bad debt on Arbitrum under the condition that all rsETH share the depreciation.In a scenario where only the value of the mainnet rsETH is guaranteed (ignoring the value of the mapped version of rsETH on Layer 2), Aave will reduce bad debt on Arbitrum by 80%, from $88 million to $17 million.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal cited by Jinshi, U.S. officials stated that the U.S. military is prepared to board and seize commercial vessels related to Iran in international waters within the next few days, expanding the scope of its naval operations beyond the Middle East.This plan comes as the Iranian military continues to strengthen its control over the Strait of Hormuz, having attacked multiple commercial vessels on Saturday and announced that the waterway is under "strict control" by Iran. These developments have caught shipping companies off guard, and just a day earlier, the Iranian Foreign Minister had claimed that the strait was fully open to commercial vessels, a statement that had received praise from President Trump.

The National Police of Ukraine and the Internal Security Department conducted a joint operation, arresting a suspect in the Transcarpathian region who is alleged to be involved in an international cybercrime gang. This gang is implicated in fraud and money laundering cases exceeding $100 million targeting the United States and Europe, and had previously been listed as an international wanted person by the FBI.The suspect was found in possession of forged identity documents and had even fabricated a death certificate to conceal their whereabouts. The gang deployed malware to steal personal and corporate data, subsequently extorting victims for ransom. Money laundering methods included purchasing real estate and using relatives' names to obscure the flow of funds. Authorities seized approximately $11 million in assets, including cash, real estate, vehicles, and about $3 million worth of cryptocurrency, and also apprehended two co-defendants. The suspect faces charges of document forgery and money laundering.