November 17, 2025

China's Crypto Laundering Web, Enforcement Actions Against North Korea and in Thailand, Japan's Tax Shake-Up & a Bitcoin Miner's AI Gamble | November 17, 2025

9 minutes

China's shadow finance brokers are quietly becoming some of the most important players in crypto-powered crime: moving cartel proceeds, fentanyl-related payments, and offshored wealth through a mix of cash, coins, and capital controls arbitrage (1:23).

From there, we turn to a growing law-enforcement response (3:31). In the United States, prosecutors are exposing North Korean IT workers hiding inside remote tech jobs and routing salaries back to a sanctioned regime, while seizing tens of millions of dollars' worth of stablecoins tied to hacks and fraud. In Southeast Asia, Thai authorities, working with the U.S. Secret Service and Tether, smash a cross-border scam ring and lock up millions in digital assets.

We also break down Japan's potential tax and regulatory overhaul, which could reclassify over a hundred crypto assets as financial products (5:12). And we close with Bitcoin miner Bitfarm's big strategic pivot: a plan to transform its energy infrastructure into AI data centers hosting high-end Nvidia hardware (6:51).

More on stories and articles discussed or referenced in this episode:

Alper, Tim. "Japanese Crypto Tax Relief in Sight as Regulator Set to Classify Bitcoin as 'Financial Product'." DL News, 16 November 2025, https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/japanese-crypto-tax-relief-in-sight-as-regulator-set-to-classify-bitcoin-as-financial-product/.

Ayan, Amin. "Crypto Emerges as Key Tool in China's Money Laundering Networks: Report." Cryptonews, 16 November 2025, https://cryptonews.com/news/crypto-emerges-as-key-tool-in-chinas-money-laundering-networks-report/.

Hamilton, Jesse. "U.S. DOJ Pursues North Korea's Illicit Money Machine, Seizes More Crypto." CoinDesk, 14 November 2025, https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/14/u-s-doj-pursues-north-korea-s-illicit-money-machine-seizes-more-crypto.

Morales, Jowi. "Major Bitcoin Mining Firm Pivoting to AI, Plans to Fully Abandon Crypto Mining by 2027 as Miners Convert to AI en Masse — Bitfarm to Leverage 341 Megawatt Capacity for AI Following $46 Million Q3 Loss." Tom's Hardware, 16 November 2025, https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cryptomining/major-bitcoin-mining-firm-pivoting-to-ai-plans-to-fully-abandon-crypto-mining-by-2027-bitfarm-to-leverage-341-megawatt-capacity-for-ai-following-usd46-million-q3-loss.

Westmore, Kathryn. "Research Paper 36: Flying Money, Hidden Threat: Understanding the Growth of Chinese Money Laundering Organisations." Serious Organised Crime & Anti Corruption Evidence Research Programme, November 2025, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63e4aef3ae07ad445eed03b5/t/6901d732787278321638e6da/1761728306567/36RP_Westmore_Flying+Money+Hidden+Threat_Nov+2025_FINAL.pdf.

Zimwara, Terence. "Tether Assists Global Law Enforcement in $12M Crypto Crime Bust." Bitcoin.com News, 17 November 2025, https://news.bitcoin.com/tether-assists-global-law-enforcement-in-12m-crypto-crime-bust/.

The music in this episode was composed by Liborio Conti, and you can find more of his fantastic work at his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/liborioconti.

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By The World Crypto Report