‘Privacy Is Not a Crime’: Email From Alleged Crypto Launderer

As government scrutiny of Binance Holdings Ltd. and other top crypto players intensifies, a company called ChipMixer is in the crosshairs of US and European law enforcement. They describe it as a mechanism to launder money, and the man allegedly behind the company has gone dark.

As it happened, I exchanged emails with someone involved a few years ago, and the conversation shows the flimsy defense ChipMixer used to claim its legitimacy.

On March 15, US and European authorities announced the takedown of ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency “mixing” platform that commingled crypto assets and obfuscated traces of ownership. The US Justice Department ...