US Treasury Imposes Sanctions on Several Chinese Crypto Wallets Linked to Illegal Drug Dealers

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on several Chinese cryptocurrency wallets (along with their associated individuals and companies) that are allegedly linked to illegal drug traffickers.

The Treasury Department has targeted wallets belonging to BTCRun, BitCoco, and Ecxx, which are all based in China. The sanctions are designed to impede the ability of the drug traffickers to transact on the blockchain, denying them access to assets or services within the United States.

Furthermore, the Treasury has linked the wallets to two Chinese nationals, Zhao Zhiqiang and Yuan Tai Tao, and their companies, BTCRun Technology Ltd, Ecxx Technology Ltd, Crypto Assets Pte. Ltd., and BitCoco Technology Ltd. The individuals and companies have been designated as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and all US persons are prohibited from engaging in substantial transactions with them.

This is the latest in a series of measures taken by the US government to crack down on activities related to virtual currency and the Central Bank of the United States has made it clear that it is committed to combating the risk of illicit finance through innovative technologies. The use of virtual currency for unlawful purposes, such as facilitating drug trafficking, is a risk the US is determined to mitigate.