Share this article
FBI arrests ex-Olympian drug 'kingpin' who allegedly used crypto to move proceeds
The U.S. caught a top-ten most-wanted fugitive when they arrested Ryan Wedding, a former top snowboarder who's said to have used digital assets in his crimes.
Jan 23, 2026, 10:02 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
What to know:
- A former top snowboarder who U.S. authorities said leaned into crypto as a drug kingpin, has been arrested and brought to the U.S. from Mexico.
- Ryan Wedding, allegedly tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, had once competed on snowboard for Team Canada in the 2002 Olympics.
U.S. authorities arrested former Canadian snowboarding star Ryan Wedding on Friday, taking down a suspected drug kingpin they said used cryptocurrency networks to move and launder proceeds from his criminal enterprises.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Wedding a "onetime Olympian snowboarder-turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin," in a statement, and she said he's been flown to the U.S. to face charges. Wedding had been on the list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's top-10ten wanted fugitives for accusations of cocaine trafficking and murder, and FBI Director Kash Patel said in a posting on social media site X that he'd been captured in Mexico.
Wedding, who the FBI said had been associated with the Sinaloa Cartel, was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in November.
"His criminal organization uses cryptocurrency to move and launder the proceeds of drug trafficking, concealing vast sums of illicit wealth," the Treasury Department said in that notice.
The 44-year-old had competed for Team Canada in the Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002, finishing 24th in his event that year. The year before, in the Junior World Championships, he'd won a silver medal.
More For You
SEC makes quiet shift to brokers' stablecoin holdings that may pack big results
The securities regulator has continued its Project Crypto work to make unofficial policy changes as it moved to let broker-dealers treat stablecoins as capital.
What to know:
- The addition of a few lines in a frequently-asked-questions page on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website may open up the use of stablecoins in capital calculations for U.S. broker-dealers.
- The agency is instructing brokers that they need only give their stablecoins a 2% haircut when calculating how much they can be used as regulatory capital.
Top Stories
