The US Department of Justice has charged Owe Martin Andresen, 49, with laundering over $2 million in cryptocurrency by converting it into gold bars. Andresen was arrested in Germany on US charges connected to darknet-market activity and money laundering.

From darknet marketplace to bullion dealer

Andresen’s case traces back to Dream Market, one of the most prominent darknet marketplaces of the last decade. The platform operated from 2013 to 2019, processing significant volumes of illicit goods with Bitcoin serving as the primary payment method.

The conversion of crypto into gold bars is a well-documented laundering technique. Instead of trying to cash out large sums of cryptocurrency through exchanges that require…