Server Seized, Sent to US, Slams Crypto's 'Safe Harbor' Myth in One Afternoon

Dutch police seized a server in Amsterdam last week belonging to Italian internet service provider Autistici/Inventati (A/I), an anti-capitalist and anti-fascist group that provides free email and web-hosting services to activists. The seizure, carried out at an Amsterdam data center under Dutch law and at the request of U.S. authorities, follows the Trump administration's August designation of A/I as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist." The U.S. Treasury alleged the organization operates "the digital infrastructure for violent Antifa cells and other far-left militants." A/I subsequently disbanded after its users and donors faced legal exposure.

Yuriy Brisov, a lawyer and partner at Digital & Analogue Partners, told Decrypt that the operation was conducted through a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), the 1981 Hague agreement that governs cross-border evidence requests between the U.S. and EU member states. "An FBI agent in Amsterdam has roughly the powers of a tourist," Brisov said. "So states ask each other permission. … everything is done under Dutch law, by Dutch officers, with Dutch powers." Brisov noted that A/I's U.S. designation "has no standing in the Netherlands" and that another legal power was exercised to enable the seizure and data transfer.

Privacy advocate Harry Halpin, CEO of infrastructure firm Nym, called the seizure a "terrifying precedent" and said the targeting reflected A/I's political beliefs. "The fact that the Dutch authorities co-operated with them to shut down a server means that the Netherlands is nothing more than a colony of the United States," Halpin told Decrypt.

Separately, French lawmakers advanced a proposal requiring residents to declare crypto holdings equal to or above €100,000 ($112,000) or face fines of up to €10,000 ($11,000). The measure is moving through Parliament after several high-profile in-person crypto robberies in France. Critics argue mandatory reporting exposes wallet sizes and undermines personal security, with one commenter calling it "a terrible idea" given past leaks tied to corrupt tax authority employees. The proposal would extend existing French reporting regimes to digital assets and remains subject to further amendment.

In other privacy-adjacent infrastructure news, Tools for Humanity co-founder Alex Blania unveiled World ID for banking and finance on Sunday, a suite that lets financial institutions verify that a real person is behind transactions, trades, and customer requests. The company behind the World ID project, which is backed by Bain Capital, said the tools are designed to address sybil attacks and synthetic-identity fraud in financial services.