A First For Crypto, U.S. Treasury Sanctions Mixer Blender IO

Blender.io, a Bitcoin mixer, has become the first crypto business to be sanctioned by the Treasury Department after being labeled a “serious threat” to US national security. The platform “failed” to implement anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism standards, according to a press release. As a result, the Treasury claims that state-sponsored bad actors have used the mixer to launder money from criminal activities. According to the government agency, the Lazarus Group, which is backed by North Korea, utilized Blender.io in an attack against Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge. This was one of the most significant attacks in the crypto business. Attackers gained access to the Bridge’s supporting nodes and used them to steal nearly $600 million. According to the press release, $20.5 million of the stolen monies were routed to Blender.io. North Korea, according to the US Treasury, has been employing cybercrime to dodge UN and other countries’ “strong” sanctions. The revenues are purportedly used to fuel the country’s nuclear weapons programme. Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said the following on the sanctions to the mixer: “Virtual currency mixers that assist illicit transactions pose a threat to U.S. national security interests. We are taking action against illicit financial activity by the DPRK and will not allow state-sponsored thievery and its money-laundering enabler...