DOJ, Square, and the Senate: Crypto’s Law-and-Order Pivot

Washington is turning up the heat on transnational crypto fraud. The Department of Justice unveiled a new interagency Scam Center Strike Force to dismantle global “pig butchering” schemes tied to Chinese crime networks. 

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said such operations stole up to $135 billion from Americans in 2024, with over $480 million in stolen crypto already seized.

The task force will unite the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, Treasury, and FinCEN to trace stolen funds, charge ringleaders, and disable U.S.-based infrastructure used in scams. Officials cast the move as part of President Trump’s push for a “safe crypto economy,” signaling a transition from fragmented enforcement to coordinated prosecution. 

Treasury simultaneously issued sanctions on Burmese and Chinese-linked entities accused of running violent scam compounds in Southeast Asia.

For the first time, the U.S. is targeting the source rather than symptoms of crypto fraud, blending law enforcement, diplomacy, and blockchain forensics into one offensive.

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Block’s Square network has activated Lightning Network payments across its global merchant base, allowing roughly four million sellers to accept Bitcoin at the point of sale. 

The system supports instant settlement, auto-conversion to dollars, and 0% processing fees until 2027, after which a flat 1% applies.

This is the first large-scale test of Lightning in mainstream commerce. It could undercut traditional card fees of 1.5% to 3%, giving merchants an incentive to experiment with Bitcoin transactions.

Each sale routes through Block’s infrastructure, effectively turning the company into a high-capacity Lightning hub.

The liquidity dynamics are subtle but powerful: Block earns spreads on conversions while tightening retail pricing across its Cash App and merchant ecosystem. If even a fraction of Square’s $200 billion annual payment volume touches Bitcoin, it would amount to billions in incremental BTC flow through Block’s closed loop. 

For merchants, the trade-off is straightforward, fewer fees, no chargebacks, and a direct path to Bitcoin treasuries.

Two Senate committees have rolled out competing drafts to define who regulates U.S. crypto markets. 

The Agriculture Committee’s proposal gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction over spot crypto markets, requiring exchanges to register as digital-commodity venues. 

The Banking Committee’s rival bill expands the SEC’s reach to “ancillary assets” that begin life as securities but can graduate once decentralized.

If adopted, the CFTC version would anchor Bitcoin under commodity logic, prioritizing market surveillance and transparent custody rules. 

The SEC’s draft, in contrast, would codify a long-awaited “escape hatch” for tokens like Ethereum to evolve out of securities status. Both frameworks point toward dual registration for exchanges and stricter capital controls.

The result is a regulatory standoff, but also progress. The U.S. is finally writing crypto’s rulebook in daylight instead of through enforcement.

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While the U.S. wrestles with jurisdiction, Europe is standing pat. The European Banking Authority said this week that the EU’s existing Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) already provides sufficient safeguards for stablecoins.

The statement came after warnings from the ECB and ESRB that “multi-issuance” stablecoins could create systemic risks if dollar redemptions stall. But the EBA countered that MiCA’s reserve, transparency, and supervision rules already address those threats. 

The agency added that most risks depend on how individual issuers manage liquidity rather than on gaps in the legal framework.

With MiCA rolling out through 2026, the EU’s stance underscores a contrast with U.S. uncertainty: European regulators believe their crypto architecture is already built, while Washington is still designing its blueprint.

Zhimin Qian, known as China’s “cryptoqueen,” has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison by a London court for orchestrating one of the largest crypto scams in history. 

Her scheme defrauded more than 128,000 Chinese investors between 2014 and 2017, siphoning roughly $6.6 billion into Bitcoin and luxury assets.

Authorities discovered Qian living in London under a false identity, renting a £17,000-per-month apartment and attempting to buy £40 million in real estate. At arrest, she held over £62 million in crypto assets and multiple forged documents.

Judge Sally-Ann Hales described her crimes as driven by “pure greed.” The case joins the global wave of enforcement actions targeting cross-border fraud and marks one of the largest single recoveries of illicit Bitcoin in European history.

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CoinShares data shows $1.2 billion in net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs last week, largely offset by mid-November inflows of over $500 million. The sequence points to de-risking, not capitulation.

Funding rates have cooled to 4–6% annualized, open interest has declined, and basis compression suggests reduced leverage. Historically, such conditions precede stability when ETF inflows resume. 

Traders are watching for three consecutive green ETF days above $200 million to confirm a shift. Solana and XRP funds remained resilient, holding modest inflows amid broader ETF redemptions.

The week’s pattern reveals a new phase for crypto: coordination over chaos. Enforcement is becoming systemic, not scattershot. Block is proving that Bitcoin can move through regulated channels faster and cheaper than credit cards. Europe is sitting tight, confident in its framework, while Washington attempts to rewrite its own.

For investors, this alignment of law, liquidity, and adoption means crypto’s future narrative is shifting from rebellion to regulation. The edges are blurring between markets and policy, risk and compliance, speculation and settlement.

Crypto’s maturing infrastructure no longer depends on hype, it runs on law, rails, and code.