Canada Seizes Record $40M in Crypto from TradeOgre Exchange
Canadian authorities have confirmed the nation’s largest cryptocurrency seizure so far, taking management of greater than 56 million Canadian {dollars} (about $40 million) in belongings from the little-known change TradeOgre.
The operation, carried out by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), dismantled the platform solely, marking the primary time Canadian regulation enforcement has shut down a cryptocurrency change.
TradeOgre Shutdown Marks First Exchange Takedown in Canada Amid Global Crackdown
The seizure adopted a year-long investigation launched in June 2024 after Europol tipped off the RCMP’s cash laundering division.
Working with its monetary and cybercrime models and blockchain analytics agency Arkham Intelligence, police traced illicit flows on the change, which they allege was utilized by felony organizations to launder cash.
In an announcement, the RCMP stated TradeOgre violated Canadian laws by failing to register with Fintrac as a cash providers enterprise and by not conducting know-your-customer checks.
Investigators imagine the vast majority of funds that moved by the change had been felony in origin, noting that anonymity was a key characteristic of the platform.
Founded in 2018, TradeOgre constructed a popularity round buying and selling privacy-focused cash corresponding to Monero and rising altcoins, attracting customers who valued minimal oversight and anonymity.
Its stripped-down interface and lack of KYC necessities made it fashionable with a distinct segment group of merchants but additionally drew scrutiny from regulation enforcement.
Speculation in regards to the platform’s destiny started in July, when its web site went offline and its X account went silent. On Reddit, pissed off customers questioned whether or not they had fallen sufferer to an exit rip-off.
At the identical time, blockchain watchers seen that funds linked to TradeOgre had been transferred to wallets carrying messages embedded in Bitcoin transactions.
One message learn: “Crypto belongings managed by the RCMP,” fueling hypothesis that authorities had stepped in.
The RCMP confirmed Thursday that the encoded messages had been genuine and a part of the operation. “This marks the most important crypto asset seizure in Canadian historical past,” the company stated, including that the seizure additionally represented the primary dismantling of an change in the nation.
Officials stated the information recovered from TradeOgre would now be analyzed, with felony prices anticipated to comply with.
Arkham Intelligence, which assisted the investigation, reported that greater than $40 million value of crypto belongings had been eliminated from the change’s wallets in current days, which the RCMP has now claimed possession of.
Requests for remark despatched to TradeOgre went unanswered. The change’s final public exercise dates again to May 2025, months earlier than the shutdown.
Canada and U.S. Step Up Joint Crackdown on Crypto Crime
Authorities in Canada and the United States are stepping up their struggle towards crypto crime following a collection of file seizures and joint operations.
On August 15, more than $300 million in cryptocurrency tied to fraud and money laundering was frozen by two parallel initiatives.
The first, led by the T3 Financial Crime Unit alongside TRM Labs, Tether, Binance, and TRON, has seized over $250 million in illicit belongings since its launch in September 2024.
Law enforcement and personal corporations have frozen over $300 million in crypto in an anti-fraud crackdown throughout two separate initiatives.#CryptoSeizures #CryptoFraud #Chainalysishttps://t.co/AilEQWoXmz
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) August 15, 2025
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated the hassle confirmed “what’s doable when the business comes along with a shared objective.”
The second initiative concerned Canadian and U.S. companies working with Chainalysis to block another $74 million. Under Project Atlas, spearheaded by the Ontario Provincial Police, greater than 2,000 crypto wallets linked to scams had been recognized throughout 14 nations, stopping an estimated $70 million in theft.
A separate arm, Operation Avalanche, centered on Ethereum-based fraud, seizing $4.3 million with the support of Canadian police and regulators.
The United States Secret Service and Canadian officers teamed as much as cease an Ethereum-based approval phishing rip-off.#SecretService #EthereumBlockchainhttps://t.co/3bKrvg4nST
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) April 16, 2025
The collaboration expanded in April when the U.S. Secret Service joined Canadian officers beneath Operation Avalanche, warning victims about phishing schemes and halting additional losses.
“We will proceed working with Canadian regulation enforcement and monetary companions to determine and seize stolen belongings to return to victims,” stated Special Agent Matt McCool.
In June, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its largest-ever Tether seizure, transferring to recuperate $225 million linked to a world “pig butchering” rip-off that funneled funds by OKX earlier than consolidating into USDT wallets.
The surge in enforcement comes amid rising losses to crypto fraud. According to the FBI, investors lost $9.3 billion in 2024, up 66% from the yr earlier than.
Officials warned that ransomware stays a number one menace to U.S. infrastructure, with greater than 5,400 folks notified of scams up to now this yr.
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