The task force would become the main point of coordination for preventing and investigating the theft of cryptocurrency, which is a problem that plagues the young industry. From fraud and so-called pig butchering by complex criminal networks to state-backed attacks from hackers, digital assets have long been a target. Many of the sector’s most vocal political opponents often cite that undercurrent of criminal abuse as proof the sector is risky for consumers.
Despite $11 billion in thefts and scams last year, “victims have nowhere to turn,” Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, argued. This change would provide “a single federal point of contact.”
This legislative effort suggests that the responses to theft cases have been inconsistent across the jurisdictions, including federal agencies and down through state and local law enforcement.
“By housing a coordinating task force at the Justice Department, this bill gives victims, investigators and local law enforcement the unified federal response they have been missing, all on a voluntary basis that respects local control,” said Dannis Porter, co-founder and CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund that advocates for digital assets policy, in a statement.
Before the arrival of the pro-crypto administration of President Donald Trump, the DOJ had maintained its own National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, but the agency quickly disbanded it during the new administration, with new leaders arguing it was regulating the industry through enforcement.
