The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a civil forfeiture action Monday seeking to recover 327,829.72 USDT, allegedly involved in a money laundering scheme connected to an online romance scam.

Justice Department targets crypto laundering in online romance scam

The complaint, filed in federal court, names the cryptocurrency as defendant property and seeks its forfeiture under federal law as proceeds of fraud and laundering.

According to the complaint, the stolen funds originated from a Massachusetts resident who was targeted in late 2024 on a dating app. The fraudster, identified only by an alias, convinced the victim to send funds for purported cryptocurrency investments that never existed.

Rather than investing the money, the scammers diverted it through a series of cryptocurrency wallets and ultimately converted it to USDT, a common tactic to obfuscate the origin and movement of illicit proceeds.

Several of the wallets in question were seized by law enforcement in August 2025 after blockchain analysis traced connections to the scam.

Under U.S. civil forfeiture law, property traceable to illegal activity may be seized by the government and ultimately returned to victims if the court finds it to be proceeds of crime. The Justice Department’s action allows third parties with a legitimate interest in the property to file claims before any forfeiture is finalized.

Prosecutors said the forfeiture complaint is part of broader efforts to target online frauds, including romance scams, investment schemes, and cyber-enabled financial crime that increasingly leverage cryptocurrency to move and hide funds.

The case highlights both the growing sophistication of crypto-related fraud and law enforcement’s expanding use of blockchain analysis to trace and reclaim stolen digital assets for fraud victims.

Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo said the rapid integration of blockchain and artificial intelligence is reshaping the financial system, positioning central banks to play a pivotal role in anchoring trust as crypto-linked infrastructure matures.

Bank of Japan’s Ueda backs blockchain settlements, advances CBDC experiments

Speaking at FIN/SUM 2026 in Tokyo, Ueda described blockchain as moving firmly into its “implementation phase,” with decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts and tokenized assets increasingly influencing settlement, payments and cross-border finance.

He emphasized that blockchain’s programmability, particularly atomic transactions that bundle multiple actions into a single execution, could streamline complex processes such as delivery-versus-payment (DvP) and cross-border transfers.

For crypto markets, the speech revealed two key themes: interoperability and settlement in central bank money.

Ueda warned that a fragmented ecosystem of multiple blockchains and traditional payment rails could create conversion bottlenecks and systemic risks if interoperability is not ensured. He suggested central bank money, potentially in tokenized form, could function as a bridge across networks, preserving the “singleness of money” while enabling innovation.

The BOJ is advancing several initiatives with direct implications for digital assets. Its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot continues technical testing, while Project Agorá — a joint effort with other central banks and major financial institutions — is exploring tokenized central bank deposits on blockchain networks for cross-border payments.

A separate BOJ sandbox is testing how current account deposits at the central bank could be used to settle transactions conducted on distributed ledgers.

Ueda also highlighted AI’s growing role in analyzing blockchain transaction data for risk management and AML/CFT compliance, signaling closer scrutiny of crypto-linked activity even as innovation expands.

The message to markets was clear: blockchain-based finance is no longer experimental. But its long-term stability, Ueda said, will hinge on central banks embedding trust, liquidity and settlement finality into the next generation of digital infrastructure.

Solana price tanked over 7% on Monday as fears of the impact of the ongoing U.S.-Iran war continued to drive investors away from risk assets. Current technical signals suggest the token could be set for a downturn.

According to data from crypto.news, Solana (SOL) price fell 7% from $88.05 on Sunday to an intraday low of $81.86 on Monday, March 2. Subsequently, it attempted a breach of the $90 resistance supported by a broader market recovery, but the rally lost steam just below that mark.

On the monthly timeframe, Solana has fallen over 30%, and is down over 44% from this year’s highs.

Solana price has remained in a downtrend as network revenues have fallen. Notably, the weekly revenue generated by the Solaba network has dropped over 30% from what was recorded during mid January, data from DeFiLlama show.

The total value locked in the network has also fallen from over $9 billion recorded on Jan. 17 to $6.64 billion at the time of writing.

With both network revenue and TVL going down, investors are concerned that Solana’s explosive growth phase is over, and the memecoin fever that fueled the network is finally breaking.

Demand for the token across the derivatives market has also contributed to the downturn. Data from CoinGlass show that SOL futures open interest has scaled back by nearly 45% to $4.93 billion from its January high of $8.88 billion as traders unwind positions awaiting signs of more calmness in the global geopolitical landscape.

Solana price is also affected by the market-wide downturn in response to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, which has pushed investors away from risk assets to more traditional alternatives, as they expect more volatility over this week.

The most recent trigger came after the retaliatory attack from Iran on U.S. ships over the weekend, stationed around the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a jump in oil prices. Investors are concerned this could lead to higher inflation in the U.S., which could likely force the Fed to hike interest rates or hold them steady at restrictive levels for longer.

Risk-assets like Solana tend to benefit from interest rate cut expectations and struggle when the Fed sets a hawkish tone.

On the daily chart, Solana price has formed a bearish flag pattern since the token entered a downtrend from mid January this year, before moving into consolidation over the past few weeks. Bearish flags have typically been precursors to further downward breakouts.

Other technical indicators also favour the bears. The Supertrend has flashed red while the Aroon lines have pointed downwards, with the Aroon Down at 50%, indicating that sellers still maintain firm control of the market.

Hence, Solana price risks dropping to the Feb. 6 low of $70 if the current bearish momentum prevails, especially considering the broader downturn. 

On the contrary, a rebound above $90, a resistance level that the token has struggled to break multiple times over the past few weeks, could offer the necessary optimism for a rally towards the $100 psychological resistance level.

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to $70,000 on Monday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. CryptoQuant data shows short-term holder losses transferred to exchanges fell to a two-week low, contrasting with the heavier selling seen in early February.

Bitcoin short-term sellers step back

The short-term holder (STH) profit/loss (P&L) to exchanges metric tracks how much Bitcoin recent buyers send to exchanges at a profit or loss. These participants tend to amplify volatility during stress events.

On March 1, the realized losses fell to 3,700 BTC even as geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran escalated in the Middle East. Bitcoin dipped to $63,000 during that window, but exchange inflows from this cohort did not expand in response.

For comparison, on Feb. 5–6, the STHs sent 89,000 BTC to exchanges at a realized loss within 24 hours. That marked a peak capitulation window. Since then, the loss-driven inflows have steadily compressed.

Crypto analyst MorenoDV noted that the most event-sensitive holders have not accelerated distribution and exhibited “zero panic.” The drop in loss transfers signals that the sell pressure from recent buyers has cooled.

A strong rally may depend on whether realized losses stay contained or reaccelerate toward prior capitulation levels during this period of geopolitical uncertainty.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy buys $204M of Bitcoin in 101st purchase

BTC futures deleveraging meets external liquidity

BTC derivatives data indicate a significant risk reduction. Crypto analyst Darkfost highlighted that Binance open interest declined to 97,680 BTC from 130,800 BTC since the start of the year, a 25% contraction. 

The estimated leverage ratio, which compares open interest to exchange BTC reserves, fell to a 0.146 weekly average. Levels below 0.15 have historically aligned with aggressive deleveraging phases during this cycle.

On the technical side, Bitcoin is attempting to reclaim its Monthly RVWAP (rolling volume-weighted average price), currently near the high-$68,000 region. The Monthly RVWAP is a volume-weighted average price anchored to the start of the month. BTC trading above it places the average monthly participant back in profit and often shifts the short-term positioning bias of traders.

The four-hour chart shows the price pushing through $70,000 and approaching the first external liquidity pocket from $70,000 to $71,500. Converting that range into support may trigger a price expansion to the $80,000 region, where prior supply capped upside in January. Crypto trader LP said,

“On the HTF, low-leverage liquidation clusters are stacking near and just above the range highs, sitting between 70–73K. These higher timeframe liquidity pools often act as magnets when they build in size.”

The BTC spot flow data adds further context. Binance spot printed roughly $7.79 million in positive delta during the breakout leg, Coinbase added about $1.16 million, and OKX contributed nearly $3.7 million.

The positive delta across venues signals aggressive spot bidding rather than isolated derivatives-driven activity. With leverage use reduced and loss-driven selling falling, the market’s attention shifts to how the price may react around the $71,500 liquidity band.

Related: Will Bitcoin crash if oil prices hit $100 per barrel?