Speculation on ‘Crypto Twitter’ began going wild after a Department of Justice announcement early on Wednesday regarding a following press release. With very vague and non-descriptive language, the DoJ made an announcement that a press release detailing “International Crypto Enforcement Motion” was to follow within the hours following the discharge.
What followed can only be described as one other hilarious moment within the rarely dry atmosphere of crypto.
Enforcement Motion… Or Something Like It
The DoJ’s live-streamed press release took place at 17:00 UTC and leading speculation across social channels ran the gambit: could a stablecoin ban, or increased regulations, be incoming? Could a government crackdown in some regulatory fashion be impending? The announcement was, in truth, neither of those things – and never even really anything close. The DoJ’s press release shared that the federal body was taking enforcement motion against little-known Russian exchange Bitzlato.
The sequence of events here was undoubtedly odd, and at best simply represents delivery from a body that isn’t in contact with what’s happening within the space.
Data from Arkham Intel, amplified by Coinbase director Conor Grogan, showcased that Bitzlato tagged wallets represented a mere $11,000 in value, with that number having peaked at $6M. While tens of millions of dollars have exited the exchange prior to now – either seized or withdrawn from accounts that got word ahead of time – it’s still a drop within the bucket in comparison with routine cryptocurrency volumes.
Yes, you’re reading all of this right; within the waves following the collapse of massive players like FTX, Terra Luna, 3AC, and others, we’re witnessing the hammer fall down on… Bitzlato. The memes write themselves sometimes.
Stablecoin USDC was the dominant asset in what was left of the remnants of Russian-based crypto exchange, Bitzlato, following the DoJ's enforcement motion on Wednesday. USDC's market dominance has been volatile in recent months. | Source: USDC.D-USD on TradingView.com
Crypto Twitter’s Feedback: Some Of Our Favorites
There was no shortage of original content running across crypto communities. It’s a part of the art of the industry. We’d be remiss not to incorporate a few of favorite feedback witnessed within the aftermath of the hilarity:
DOJ caught an enormous one today, excellent work 🫡 pic.twitter.com/JtijSbk9MA
— db (@tier10k) January 18, 2023
Huge opportunity emerging for exchanges to capture all that massive Bitzlato volume now.
— Hsaka (@HsakaTrades) January 18, 2023
DOJ with bitzlato pic.twitter.com/jVv3rZSt3W
— red (@redxbt) January 18, 2023