The US government has filed charges against two individuals accused of laundering more than $389 million in cryptocurrency, adding to a growing list of federal enforcement actions targeting illicit flows through digital assets.

In June 2025, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture action targeting approximately $225.3 million in USDT connected to investment fraud schemes. That action alone signaled that prosecutors were willing to go after stablecoin proceeds with the same intensity traditionally reserved for fiat currency cases.

The FBI, meanwhile, has been compiling its own receipts. Bureau data from 2025 documented $389 million in reported losses from crypto ATM and kiosk fraud, a 58% increase year-over-year. Those figures were drawn from 13,460 individual complaints, with seniors aged 60 and older bearing the brunt of the damage.

The regulatory ripple effect

In April 2026, Canada announced plans to ban crypto ATMs entirely, citing their persistent links to scams and money laundering.

Bitcoin Depot, one of the largest crypto ATM operators in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2026. The company cited business pressures and rising compliance costs as contributing factors.