The U.S. Department of Justice has restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency while targeting wallets and online channels linked to the Xinbi Guarantee scam network.

Tether said in a Sep. 11 statement that the DOJ credited the stablecoin issuer’s “proactive assistance” in an operation against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace linked to international scam groups.

The coordinated action restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency in one day. U.S. authorities also seized two wallets that Xinbi allegedly used to receive about $12 million in payments and sought restraint orders covering 47 additional wallets tied to suspected money laundering.

Xinbi operated as a service hub rather than a single scam site. According to U.S. authorities and blockchain researchers, its vendors connected fraud groups with money launderers, operators of fake investment platforms, and recruiters involved in human trafficking.

DOJ targets Xinbi’s financial infrastructure

Instead of focusing only on individual fraud schemes, the enforcement action went after the payment tools that supported Xinbi’s marketplace. Vendors allegedly used the platform to advertise services, receive payments, and move proceeds from online scams through cryptocurrency wallets.

The two wallets targeted for seizure had collected about $12 million in payments, Tether said. Restraint requests involving another 47 wallets expanded the action to addresses that U.S. authorities associated with money laundering activity.

A post from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia described Xinbi as a Chinese-run network and confirmed that authorities restrained $52 million during the operation. The office said the action raised the Scam Center Strike Force’s running enforcement total to $938 million.

Authorities did not say in the available announcements whether every restrained wallet contained USDT or identify the other digital assets involved. The disclosed figures also refer to different legal steps: two wallets were seized, while the government sought restraints against 47 others.

Xinbi’s payment network had drawn scrutiny well before the latest DOJ action. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic estimated in May 2025 that the marketplace had processed at least $8.4 billion in transactions since 2022, according to a report on Xinbi published by Wired.

Elliptic linked the market to money laundering, stolen data, fake investment operations and services used by human trafficking networks. Wired also reported that the business behind Xinbi had been incorporated in Colorado in 2022, giving the case a direct U.S. connection beyond the use of dollar-linked cryptocurrency.

By April 2026, Elliptic estimated that Xinbi’s cumulative transaction volume had reached $21 billion. The firm recorded another $505 million in transactions during the 19 days after the United Kingdom sanctioned the marketplace in March 2026, Wired reported.

Tether assists with wallet restraints

Tether’s involvement gave authorities access to controls that do not exist in the same form for assets such as Bitcoin. As the issuer of USDT, the company can block specific tokens held at identified addresses after receiving valid requests from law enforcement.

CEO Paolo Ardoino said criminal groups should not assume that using cryptocurrency places their funds outside the reach of investigators. According to Ardoino, stablecoin infrastructure allows authorities to trace transactions and stop illicit funds when the relevant wallets have been identified.

Tether said it has worked with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 67 countries. The company attributed more than $5 billion in frozen assets connected to suspected illicit activity to that cooperation.

The Xinbi action is not the first U.S. case in which Tether has helped investigators trace or control stablecoins. In June 2025, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint covering about $225.3 million in cryptocurrency connected to investment fraud affecting more than 400 suspected victims.

According to the DOJ complaint, the FBI and U.S. Secret Service traced seven groups of Tether tokens through a laundering network after Tether and crypto exchange OKX flagged suspicious accounts in 2023. The government alleged that the funds came from confidence-based investment scams, often called “pig butchering” schemes.

Reported losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud reached $5.8 billion in 2024, according to an FBI figure cited in the earlier DOJ case. Such schemes commonly begin when fraudsters build trust through social media, messaging services, or dating platforms before directing victims to fake investment websites.

Xinbi rebuilt after an earlier Telegram purge

Telegram blocked channels connected to Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee in May 2025 after researchers documented their alleged role in crypto scams and money laundering. The two Chinese-language markets had processed more than $35 billion combined since 2021, according to Elliptic data cited by Reuters.

Telegram said at the time that scamming and money laundering violated its terms. Xinbi, however, later returned through new channels, while other guarantee marketplaces absorbed business displaced by the removals.

By June 2025, Elliptic found that Tudou Guarantee, a market partly owned by Huione Group, had more than doubled in size and was handling about $15 million in daily crypto payments. Xinbi had also rebuilt its user base, demonstrating that removing messaging accounts had not eliminated the payment networks behind the marketplaces.

The guarantee-market model provided escrow and deposit services intended to keep vendors from cheating their customers. Researchers said operators used the same structure to connect scam groups with sellers of stolen data, laundering services, telecommunications tools and equipment linked to forced-labor compounds.

In Southeast Asia, some scam centers have relied on trafficked workers who were recruited with false job offers and then forced to contact potential victims. U.S. authorities have treated the fraud committed against investors and the trafficking of workers as connected parts of the same criminal system.

U.S. agencies increase pressure on crypto scam networks

The Xinbi operation adds to a series of actions by the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, and Treasury against overseas networks accused of targeting Americans through fake cryptocurrency investments.

U.S. enforcement has included wallet seizures, civil forfeiture complaints, website takedowns and sanctions against financial companies accused of processing scam proceeds. In each type of action, authorities must identify the specific assets, accounts, or infrastructure connected to the suspected offense.

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network took separate action against Cambodia-based Huione Group in May 2025, identifying it as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. FinCEN said Huione had laundered at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025.

According to FinCEN’s findings, the total included at least $37 million linked to North Korean cyber theft, $36 million from crypto investment fraud, and $300 million from other cyber scams. The agency also cited weak or absent anti-money laundering and customer-verification controls across Huione’s business network.

Three events could shape currency markets this week, with UK inflation and two key central bank decisions scheduled within just two days.

In this video, Gary Thomson looks at the latest UK inflation data, the Federal Reserve’s unusually uncertain rate decision and the Bank of Japan’s expected policy tightening — and what they could mean for GBP, USD and JPY.

👉 Key topics covered:

✔️ UK Inflation — 16 September — With inflation risks building again ahead of the Bank of England’s September meeting and the UK government’s October Budget, could stronger price growth increase expectations for another BoE rate hike later this year and support the British pound?

✔️ Fed Interest Rate Decision — 16 September — Markets are pricing in around a 62% probability of a 25-basis-point hike. With a September hike far from fully priced in, the decision itself could trigger a notable market reaction. Economic projections and the press conference may have an additional impact on the US dollar.

✔️ BoJ Interest Rate Decision — 18 September — Markets expect a 25-basis-point rate increase, with USD/JPY already falling to its lowest level since February 2026. Could signals about further quarterly hikes provide additional support for the Japanese yen?

With GBP, USD and JPY all sensitive to changing rate expectations, these three events could bring volatility to currency, commodity and equity markets.

💬 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more market insights every week.

Watch it now and stay updated with FXOpen.

This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said the Japanese Bitcoin treasury company will further amend its Series 10 stock acquisition rights amid shareholder backlash over dilution concerns.

Metaplanet will reduce the number of potential shares underlying the rights by 131.3 million, from 319.464 million to 188.19 million, by resetting the conversion ratio from 1:696 to 1:410, the level before its September 2025 international share offering, Gerovich announced in a Friday X post.

Shares already delivered through prior exercises will not be returned or canceled. The reduction applies to the number available through future exercises.

The change will extinguish more than $220 million in warrant value and increase the company’s Bitcoin per fully diluted share by about 8.8%, according to Gerovich.

Metaplanet will withdraw its plans to transfer up to 90,000 rights to a long-term officer and employee incentive vehicle and develop a new compensation program with a leading global compensation consultant. Under the amended terms, all unvested rights will face additional exercise restrictions, with one-third becoming exercisable in each of 2029, 2030 and 2031.

The change follows shareholder criticism of the option pool’s expansion from 46 million shares to 319.5 million. Metaplanet said it fixed the pool at 319.5 million shares on Aug. 18, but some shareholders called on it to cancel the 273 million additional potential shares created by the expansion.

In a Friday X post, VanEck’s head of digital asset research, Matthew Sigel, called the adjustment a “meaningful concession” that better aligns management with shareholders.

On Aug. 31, Metaplanet disclosed that Gerovich exercised rights to acquire 92,000 shares under the Series 10 pool. Gerovich said he recused himself from the board’s deliberations and vote on the adjustment because he is a Series 10 holder.

On Aug. 18, the company acknowledged that expanding the pool “amplifies the dilution borne by existing shareholders.” 

Related: Metaplanet buys 2,823 BTC, surpasses 43,000 in Bitcoin holdings 

Metaplanet plans Hong Kong asset management subsidiary

Metaplanet also announced Friday plans to establish Metaplanet Asset Management Asia Limited in Hong Kong with $1 million in initial capital later in September.

The subsidiary will conduct trading in Bitcoin, equities and credit products during Asian market hours.

The new entity is part of Metaplanet’s “Project Nova,” which aims to build a Bitcoin-centered platform spanning asset management, securities, capital markets and other financial services.

In June, Metaplanet agreed to acquire Siiibo Securities in a 2.1 billion yen ($13.1 million) deal to form a securities arm.

Metaplanet stock price, 5-day chart. Source: Yahoo Finance

Metaplanet shares fell 3.8% on Friday, bringing their five-day decline to 15%, according to Yahoo Finance.

Magazine: Bitcoin adoption metrics say one thing, price action says another

To prepare, Garfield began with the rhythms Ploughman would know. “It’s a man that lives in a very, very different time and in a very, very different rhythm to me,” he says. “Connection to the earth and connection to nature, that felt very, very important.” He researched the seasons, harvests, clothing, daily labor, and the habits of the ox. Before filming, he spent time in Ploughman’s hut with the animal, learning the terms of a household in which the ox slept indoors through winter to provide warmth. “Connection to his ox, that was the primary relationship in the story,” Garfield says. The animal is at once Ploughman’s companion, source of heat, and fellow laborer.

His wife and children are dead before the film begins, but Garfield imagined the life Ploughman lost so he could carry that grief across the film. He developed their history and their absence until they became, as he puts it, the “kind of invisible visible spirit characters that are there throughout the story.” Their absence helps explain why the character continues to seek justice, even after the uprising begins to lose its way. “They are the characters that are drawing him forward throughout the action of the film,” Garfield says.

India and Russia have begun working on a digital currency settlement mechanism for bilateral trade as their central banks examine how state-issued currencies could be used for cross-border payments.

Sberbank Chief Executive Officer Herman Gref said the Bank of Russia and the Reserve Bank of India are working on the mechanism, with Russia’s largest lender supporting the effort as the two countries look for new ways to settle their expanding trade.

“Now it’s only beginning, but we see huge opportunity for digital currency for all settlements between the countries,” Gref told reporters in New Delhi on Friday, where India is hosting the annual BRICS summit.

Gref said demand for digital currencies could grow as the technology becomes available for international settlements. Russia launched the national rollout of its digital ruble on Sept. 1, while India has been testing its own central bank digital currency since 2022.

“The Russian central bank and the central bank of India are working on this very precisely and we have tried to support them because we need this kind of instrument,” Gref said.

The Reserve Bank of India had not commented on Gref’s remarks at the time of the report.

India and Russia explore digital currency trade payments

Talks between the two central banks follow several years of work on using CBDCs for international payments. The RBI has previously examined both bilateral and multilateral arrangements that could allow the digital rupee to settle transactions across borders.

In May 2025, crypto.news previously reported that the RBI was exploring cross-border CBDC pilots with international partners as part of the next phase of the digital rupee program.

India launched its wholesale digital rupee pilot in November 2022 and followed with a retail pilot the next month. The RBI said in its 2024-25 annual report that it planned to test more functions and cross-border applications after gaining experience from the domestic pilots.

The value of the digital rupee in circulation had climbed from 234.04 crore rupees in fiscal 2024 to 1,016.46 crore rupees in fiscal 2025, while the central bank continued looking at practical uses for the CBDC.

Russia has moved further into nationwide deployment. Its digital ruble entered a wider rollout on Sept. 1, requiring systemically important banks to provide digital ruble services and large merchants to begin supporting payments.

Major Russian telecom companies including MTS, Rostelecom and MegaFon prepared to accept the CBDC from the same date. Large retailers with annual revenue above 120 million rubles came under the first stage of mandatory acceptance, with requirements scheduled to extend to more banks and merchants in later phases.

The digital ruble operates alongside cash and existing non-cash rubles. Users can access digital ruble wallets through participating banking applications connected to the Bank of Russia’s platform.

BRICS members discuss linking CBDC payment systems

The India-Russia discussions sit within a separate BRICS effort to connect national payment systems for trade and other cross-border transactions.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that digital currency settlements would be discussed with BRICS members and partner countries during the New Delhi summit. India has backed work on CBDC-based settlement during its BRICS chairmanship this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi favors the use of central bank digital currencies for bilateral trade and cross-border payments between members, without presenting the plan as an attempt to challenge the U.S. dollar.

Earlier this year, the RBI proposed linking BRICS CBDCs to support direct settlements between participating countries. The proposal included currencies such as India’s e-rupee and other CBDCs developed by BRICS economies.

Such a network would require participating central banks to establish common technical standards and settlement rules. The RBI had considered bilateral foreign exchange swap arrangements as one possible method for dealing with trade imbalances between countries using their national digital currencies.

Discussions around a BRICS digital payment network predate India’s 2026 chairmanship. Russia had previously pushed for an independent BRICS payment system using blockchain and digital currencies, while officials have considered ways to connect the payment infrastructure of member countries.

The work gained more attention after major Russian banks lost access to the SWIFT financial messaging network following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow has since pursued several alternative channels for international payments as Western sanctions restricted access to parts of the traditional financial system.

Digital ruble rollout gives Russia a working CBDC rail

Russia’s Sept. 1 rollout has given the country a live domestic CBDC system while discussions with India continue.

The digital ruble became available through 12 systemically important banks during the first stage of the rollout. The Bank of Russia plans to expand participation in phases, eventually requiring the rest of the banking sector and more merchants to support the CBDC.

The launch came on the same day Russia’s regulated crypto market framework took effect, creating separate rules for cryptocurrency trading, custody and international settlements.

Under the crypto framework, eligible digital assets can be used for regulated cross-border commercial transactions, while cryptocurrency payments for goods and services remain restricted inside Russia. Non-qualified retail investors can buy up to 300,000 rubles of eligible cryptocurrencies annually through each intermediary after passing a suitability test, while qualified investors face fewer purchase restrictions.

Bitcoin, Ether and USDT were among the assets proposed by the Bank of Russia for regulated trading.

The digital ruble remains separate from those privately issued or decentralized digital assets because it is a direct liability of Russia’s central bank.

Rupee accumulation is no longer a major trade problem, Gref says

Payment arrangements between India and Russia have received particular attention since bilateral trade rose sharply after 2022, driven largely by Indian purchases of Russian oil.

Russia accumulated billions of dollars worth of rupees through trade as Indian imports from the country outpaced exports in the opposite direction. Some of the money was held in vostro accounts maintained by foreign banks with Indian lenders for rupee-based trade settlement.

Gref said the accumulation was no longer a significant obstacle because Russian companies had found ways to use the funds.

“Now it’s not the problem in our trade and we try to increase the trade between the countries,” he said.

Some excess rupees have been invested in Indian federal government securities, according to Gref, although he did not provide a figure.

The RBI had introduced rules allowing accumulated rupee balances to be invested in Indian projects and securities or used to pay for future purchases of goods and services, giving Russian companies more options for deploying funds generated through bilateral trade.

India and Russia have ranked among each other’s five largest trading partners since India increased purchases of Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine. Bilateral trade reached nearly $60 billion in India’s fiscal 2026, with Russian energy shipments accounting for much of India’s imports.

The two countries are targeting $100 billion in bilateral trade by the end of the decade, but the flow remains heavily weighted toward Russian exports.

Gref said the imbalance exceeds $50 billion and called for more Indian goods to reach the Russian market.

“We need to bring more Indian exports and more opportunities to the Russian market and this is our goal,” he said.