U.S. DOJ hits Paxful for $4 million in case tied to illegal sex work, money laundering

The crypto platform Paxful Holdings, which pleaded guilty to fostering illegal prostitution and violating money-laundering laws, was sentenced to pay a $4 million penalty. U.S. authorities sharply reduced the fine from an initial contemplation of over $112 million based on the company's current ability to pay. Paxful, a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace popular in Africa that shut down in 2023, had processed up to $3 billion in crypto trades between 2017 and 2019, including transactions for Backpage, an advertising platform for illicit sex work. U.S. Attorney Eric Grant stated the sentence sends a clear message to companies that ignore criminal activity on their platforms.

(Source：CoinDesk)