Today in crypto, the US has sought to retry Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, insurance broker Aon is testing stablecoins for paying insurance premiums and Bithumb reportedly risks a partial business suspension for negligence around money laundering and customer verification practices.
US seeks Roman Storm retrial after mixed verdict
US prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal court on Monday for a retrial of crypto mixer Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges at his trial last year.
US Attorney for Manhattan Jay Clayton requested a trial date in early October to retry Storm on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.
In August, a jury convicted Storm of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, but was deadlocked on the money laundering and sanctions violation conspiracy charges, which has allowed prosecutors to retry those charges.
Storm had pleaded not guilty and asked the court in October to acquit him of the money transmitting charge, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors use Tornado Cash.
Storm posted on X that the retrial on the two counts could see him spend “up to 40 years in federal prison. For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don't control. For transactions I never touched” and accused prosecutors of trying him “with the hope of getting a different answer.”
Aon tests stablecoin payments for insurance premiums
Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, is testing the use of stablecoins to pay insurance premiums, highlighting the growing role of digital dollars in traditional financial infrastructure following the passage of the GENIUS bill last year.
In a Monday announcement, UK-based Aon said it completed a pilot that settled insurance premiums for clients, including Coinbase and Paxos, using USDC
USDC on Ethereum and PayPal USD PYUSD on Solana.
Tim Fletcher, CEO of Aon’s financial services division, said the pilot reflects the company’s effort to explore stablecoins as a payment rail, predicting that tokenized assets will become more widely used in financial transactions.
Aon said in August that its analysis showed 120 re-insurers wrote nearly $2 trillion of gross written premium in 2024.
Bithumb faces possible six-month partial suspension in South Korea
Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is reportedly facing a possible partial business suspension of up to six months as regulators step up enforcement over anti-money laundering controls.
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) gave Bithumb a preliminary notice of a six-month partial suspension over alleged anti-money laundering and know-your-customer failures under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, according to local media reports on Monday. The regulator reportedly cited concerns over dealings with unregistered overseas virtual asset service providers and shortcomings in customer due diligence.
The FIU also issued a reprimand warning to Bithumb’s CEO, a warning considered a heavy penalty, which may lead to restrictions on his reappointment or future roles. Regulators are expected to hold a sanctions review later in March before deciding on any final measures. Bithumb told News1 that the action remains at the pre-notification stage and that the scope of any sanctions could still change.
“This measure is not yet a confirmed sanction, but is a pre-notification stage, and there may be some adjustments in the sanctions trial,” a Bithumb spokesperson said, adding that “restrictions only apply to the transfer (withdrawal) of virtual assets by new members.”
If finalized, the suspension would restrict new users from transferring digital assets off the platform, according to the report. Bithumb did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
