• A group of U.S. law enforcement agencies have formed an organization to combat “cryptocurrency-enabled crimes”.
• The new task force will have an international reach, with 93 overseas locations in 56 countries.
• Crypto crime accounted for $20.6 billion in 2022, as per Chainalysis.
U.S. Agencies Form Darknet and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force
A group of United States law enforcement agencies have announced the formation of the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force, which will collaborate on crimes involving the darknet and digital currency such as drug trafficking, money laundering, identity theft, and child exploitation. The agencies include Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona, the office of U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service who signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week formalizing their action.
International Reach
The task force will have an international reach as one unit has 93 overseas locations in 56 countries.
Pre-emptive Measures by Other Federal Agencies
Other agencies within the U.S., including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team have taken pre-emptive measures to address the risks posed by digital currency.
Crypto Crime Reaches New Highs
As per Chainalysis’ report published in February 2023 crypto crime accounted for a record-setting $20 billion worth of blockchain transactions in 2022.
Conclusion
This task force is part of a larger effort by US law enforcement to combat cryptocurrency enabled crimes on a global scale through intelligence sharing and technological advancements like specialized units and tools to detect cybercrime activities related to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum among others..