This week brought some of the most consequential developments in crypto enforcement and regulation to date. From the US Department of Justice’s record-breaking $15 billion bitcoin forfeiture indictment action linked to human trafficking and fraud, to renewed debate over insider trading in crypto after a perfectly timed short, and the EBA’s warning on MiCA transition risks, regulators around the world are sending a clear message: oversight and accountability are accelerating across every corner of the digital asset landscape.
DOJ indicts Prince Group chairman and files record $15B bitcoin forfeiture
The US Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging Chen Zhi (“Vincent”), chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group, with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies tied to a sprawling forced-labor network operating across the country.
According to the DOJ, individuals were trafficked and held against their will in prison-like compounds where they were forced to run large-scale cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, commonly known as “pig butchering.” Victims around the world, including in the United States, were deceived into transferring crypto assets under false investment promises, with the proceeds laundered through an extensive network of shell companies, exchanges, and professional money-laundering operations.
Alongside the indictment, the DOJ also filed the largest civil forfeiture action in its history, targeting approximately 127,271 bitcoin, worth around $15 billion, currently held in US custody. The announcement was accompanied by parallel sanctions from the US Department of the Treasury, which designated Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization, and coordinated action from the UK government, which imposed additional sanctions on associated entities and individuals.
In a statement, the DOJ described the operation as one of the largest and most exploitative investment fraud networks in history, combining human trafficking, cyber fraud, and large-scale money laundering. The case was led by the FBI’s New York Joint Asian Criminal Enterprise Task Force with support from the Bureau’s Virtual Asset Unit.
Crystal Intelligence has been providing information to international authorities on this case for several years, including the UN and the US Secret Service, contributing to the broader intelligence picture that led to this coordinated global action.
Why this matters:
The Prince Group case exposes the growing intersection between human trafficking and crypto-based financial crime, highlighting how forced-labor compounds have become central to industrial-scale online fraud operations. It also sets a new precedent for on-chain asset recovery, showing that governments can identify, seize, and hold billions in digital assets through forensic investigation. For compliance teams, it underscores the need for rigorous due diligence on entities with exposure to high-risk jurisdictions such as Cambodia, as well as tighter monitoring of wallets and exchanges connected to known transnational criminal organizations.
Read more on the U.S. Department of Justice website
Hyperliquid trader doubles down with new $160M Bitcoin short
The trader who made global headlines last week for profiting more than $150 million from shorting Bitcoin and Ethereum ahead of the recent market crash has now opened another major position — this time, a $160 million leveraged short on Bitcoin.
The move comes just days after the same trader took substantial short positions on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, just minutes before President Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. That policy change triggered one of the biggest liquidation events in crypto history. More than $19 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out, with 1.6 million traders affected across major exchanges.
According to on-chain data from HypurrScan, the new trade involves an investment of $16 million at 10x leverage, entered at a price of $117,370. The position carries a liquidation level of $123,500, just below Bitcoin’s recent local high of $126,080. As of publication, the trade has generated over $4 million in unrealized profits with Bitcoin trading around $114,430.
The timing has once again drawn intense market speculation. Analysts and traders have described the precision of the entries as “uncanny,” with some observers suggesting the trader continued adding to positions until moments before key announcements. Prominent crypto investigator Coffeezilla noted the trader’s activity on X (formerly Twitter), calling the pattern “a case study in incredible timing.”
Further intrigue was added when on-chain researchers identified potential links between the trader’s wallet and those associated with Garrett Jin, former CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitForex. While these connections were based on shared transaction patterns and similar activity across addresses, several analysts have cautioned that the overlap could be indirect — or the result of acquaintances rather than Jin himself.
The episode has revived the debate around insider knowledge and market timing in crypto, though no verifiable evidence currently supports claims of misconduct. Regardless, the scale of the trade and its proximity to major policy news continue to fuel discussion about transparency, information asymmetry, and the role of decentralized derivatives platforms in market stability.
Why this matters:
The trader’s renewed $160 million short highlights the delicate balance between transparency and influence in crypto derivatives. Following recent liquidations from last week’s tariff-induced crash, another big directional move could cause increased market volatility. For regulators and compliance teams, this case shows the difficulty of overseeing possible insider trading in decentralized markets, where jurisdictional control is limited and high-leverage trading is mostly unregulated. For investigators and market analysts, continuous on-chain review will be essential to differentiate between mere luck and possible inside information.
Read more on Live Bitcoin News
EBA warns of crypto risks during MiCA’s transitional phase
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has issued a new warning to consumers and investors as the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) enters its transitional phase ahead of full implementation in July 2026. The regulator cautioned that some crypto firms may exploit the interim period by registering in EU countries with lighter supervision and using passporting rights to operate across the bloc, a practice referred to as “jurisdiction shopping.”
According to the EBA, several firms have already submitted registration applications in multiple jurisdictions and withdrawn from those where they faced more scrutiny, choosing instead to operate in states with more lenient oversight. This strategy, the EBA says, could undermine the consistency of MiCA’s framework and expose consumers to greater fraud and governance risks.
The authority advised investors to verify whether a crypto service provider is officially authorized in the EU, and warned that MiCA’s full consumer protections, including reserve requirements, complaint mechanisms, and disclosure standards, will not apply until authorization is complete.
Why this matters:
The EBA’s warning emphasizes the regulatory vulnerabilities during MiCA’s transition as firms prepare for the new regime. For compliance teams, it’s a timely reminder to review the regulatory status and home-country authorization of any EU counterparties and to evaluate how transitional permissions might influence risk exposure. It also indicates a potential rise in cross-border supervisory cooperation, with EU regulators expected to share more data and perform targeted checks to prevent misuse of the passporting system before 2026.
Read more on Crypto News
