US Takes Aim at North Korean Crypto Laundering

The U.S. sanctioned a cryptocurrency swap service on Friday, part of a larger effort to crack down on North Korea’s practice of using hackers to steal money for the state.

The sanctions, leveled against the company Blender.io, mark the first time that the U.S. Treasury Department has taken action against what is known in the cryptocurrency industry as a mixer, a for-profit service that allows users to move crypto between accounts without leaving a clear transaction record. Treasury said in a news release that North Korea has used Blender.io to launder more than $20.5 million of cryptocurrency that it allegedly stole from the online game Axie Infinity in March. Hackers stole more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrency from the game’s owner. Blender.io did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Its site was inaccessible Friday.