Following a sweeping crackdown, U.S. federal prosecutors have seized, and investors may recover, approximately $15 billion in bitcoin from what authorities describe as one of the largest cryptocurrency investment frauds ever uncovered — a sprawling “pig butchering” operation built on forced labor and human trafficking. The cryptocurrency is already in U.S. government custody, and recovery...
Bitcoin’s 2025 price swings may not have been predicted, but they impacted market conduct in predictable ways. When asset prices decline, disputes over the allocation of losses often arise; conversely, during periods of rising asset prices, competition increases and the potential for risks associated with improper conduct also escalates. Add in a government’s retreat from regulation and...
Transactions conducted in fiat currency seldom give rise to questions regarding the currency's origins; however, transactions involving digital assets warrant greater scrutiny. There may be legal ramifications for those who unwittingly possess digital assets like Bitcoin that have been connected to a crime, i.e., "dirty" crypto. Although a crypto holder or investor may not know their crypto is so...
Digital assets have been subject to some of the largest thefts in history. In fact, the largest crypto theft — in connection with the February 2025 $1.5 billion Bybit hack — dwarfs the Guinness Book of World Records' entry for the largest bank robbery of $282 million. See "Crypto's biggest hacks and heists after $1.5 billion theft from Bybit," Reuters, Feb. 24, 2025. Sometimes, however, all is...
Joseph Cioffi, Davis+Gilbert’s Chief Operating Partner and Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights + Finance Practice Group Chair who has worked on large crypto bankruptcies and forfeiture proceedings, was quoted in Cryptopolitan commenting on the effect of the verbal agreement made by the founders of Dough Financial to compensate users following a hack of the platform. As noted, post-hack promises are not...
July 2024, Dough Finance — a crypto startup trading platform that made it easy to make risky bets using borrowed funds — suffered a major hack, resulting in the theft of substantial assets belonging to its users. Following the collapse of Dough Finance, the founders launched a new venture — World Liberty Financial — in partnership with Donald Trump and his three sons. One investor, Jonathan...
Over the last decade, year over year, hackers have stolen billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies. Last month, another of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was hacked in what has been called the largest crypto heist in history. The exchange was Bybit, based in Dubai, and the hackers, which according to a public announcement by the FBI are linked to North Korea, ran away with $1.5...
