Anchorage Digital faces scrutiny from US Homeland Security — Report
The US Department of Homeland Security’s El Dorado Task Force has reportedly launched an investigation into Anchorage Digital Bank, a Wall Street-backed cryptocurrency firm.
According to an April 14 Barron’s report, members of the task force have contacted former employees of the company over the past weeks to examine its practices and policies. Citing unidentified sources, the report claims the probe looks at potential financial crimes within Anchorage.
The reported Homeland task force probe hints at cross-national financial activities. Established in 1992, the El Dorado Task Force focuses on “transnational money laundering” activities and financial crimes carried out by organizations.
Anchorage is co-founded by Portuguese-American entrepreneur Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley, according to its website. Along with its US businesses, Anchorage has operations in Singapore and Portugal. Its investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs and Visa, among others.
Anchorage Digital is the only federally chartered crypto bank in the United States. It received its national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January 2021.
Despite its advanced regulatory position, Anchorage Digital has faced regulatory challenges in the US. In April 2022, the OCC issued a consent order against the bank for deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering compliance programs. At the time, the company was ordered to establish a committee to address the alleged issues under the oversight of the OCC.
Cointelegraph reached out to Anchorage for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Anchorage’s crypto footprint
Anchorage was founded in 2017, and since then has been expanding its crypto footprint with services for institutional clients. The company is a custodian of BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) alongside Coinbase and BitGo. BlackRock’s BTC funds have attracted over $35.5 billion in cumulative inflows since its launch in January 2024.
Another of Anchorage’s clients is Cantor Fitzgerald. The company has offered custody and collateral management for Cantor’s Bitcoin holdings since March 2025. Anchorage reported over $50 billion in assets under management in 2024.
Among Anchorage’s custody competitors are players such as Ripple, Kraken, Taurus and Fireblocks, but the storage of digital assets has also attracted traditional financial institutions to the crypto field. HSBC, Citi and BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — are also competing to safeguard crypto assets for institutional clients.
According to Fireblocks’ Adam Levine, senior vice president of corporate development, the US market lacks qualified custodians for digital assets. “[…] there are limited options for certain market participants to keep their digital assets in safe keeping via a qualified custodian,” Levine told Cointelegraph in a previous interview.
A 2025 survey by EY reveals that 59% of institutional investors plan to allocate over 5% of their assets under management to cryptocurrencies, indicating a growing demand for institutional-grade custody services.
Institutional investors are expected to increase crypto allocations in 2025. Source: EY
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry.
According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange.
That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down.
However, since Trump won the presidency in 2024, many lawmakers have accused the president of corruption from profiting off crypto while being in a position to influence laws and regulations over the industry.
Trump has launched his own memecoin — which earns the project millions of dollars in transaction fees — and offered the top tokenholders the opportunity to attend an exclusive dinner in Washington, DC. His family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, would settle a $2 billion investment in Binance using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin.
“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies,” the senators said in the letter, according to Bloomberg.
Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
Stablecoin bill fails to pass the US Senate
The letter came less than 24 hours after some of the same senators blocked a crucial vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, named the GENIUS Act. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who reportedly signed the letter and opposed moving forward on the stablecoin bill, suggested the Senate should not be aligned with “facilitat[ing] this kind of corruption” from Trump.
Bessent said the Senate “missed an opportunity” by not passing the stablecoin bill, but did not directly address any of the concerns over Trump’s crypto interests. It’s unclear if or when the chamber could consider another vote on the bill.
In an April 23 report, the nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action said roughly 40% of Trump’s net worth was tied to crypto. The group noted that the GENIUS Act, in its current version, “would not prevent President Trump from using his executive powers to establish a regulatory environment and enforcement agenda that prioritizes his personal enrichment over the broader interests of US stakeholders.”
Amid the concerns with the stablecoin and proposed market structure bills, Zhao reportedly applied for a federal pardon from Trump. Though the former CEO already served four months in prison, a pardon for his felony charge could allow him to get more involved with the crypto industry through a management position.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Politics
Chancellor insists Labour rebels ‘know the welfare system needs reform’ as they push for change
Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.
Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.
In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.
Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.
Taiwan is an export-oriented economy
Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.
“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.
In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.
“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.
Bitcoin is not the only solution
Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.
Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.
Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.
“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:
“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”
The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.
Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.
Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway