United States Agencies Unite in the Fight Against Cryptocurrency-Enabled Crimes

The formation of the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force is a significant advance in the fight against the growing problem of darknet crimes and crimes involving digital currencies. The goal of this task force is to stop a variety of “cryptocurrency-enabled crimes,” such as child exploitation, drug trafficking, money laundering, and identity theft. This coordinated strategy, which focuses on dismantling criminal organizations that take advantage of the darknet’s anonymity and use digital currency for illegal purposes, is a crucial development in the fight against cybercrime.

The Formation of the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force

A memorandum of understanding was signed on June 20 by representatives from important agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona, the Office for U.S. Attorneys, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Postal Inspection Service, to reaffirm their commitment to working together. This agreement acknowledges the growing importance of cryptocurrencies in criminal activity while formalizing the relationship that started in 2017. The task force’s main goal is to dismantle criminal organizations that use digital currency and the darknet’s seeming anonymity for their illegal activities.

According to a statement, “The Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force’s mission is to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that exploit the appearance of anonymity on the darknet or use digital currency to facilitate criminal activities.”

A global trend in law enforcement authorities is the creation of dedicated divisions to address crimes related to cryptocurrencies. While Canadian police agencies have started local task forces, Interpol formed a specialized cryptocrimes unit in the latter half of 2022. Notably, the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force will broaden its influence outside of the United States by taking advantage of the HSI’s strong global presence, which includes 93 locations across 56 nations.

Collaboration Within the United States

To combat crimes involving digital currency, several agencies in the US have taken proactive actions. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team of the Justice Department collaborates with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit, which was founded in February. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also dramatically strengthened its Cyber Unit last year in response to the evolving cyber threats.

The degree of the difficulty facing law enforcement is significant. More than 4,000 crypto whales, according to Chainalysis, a top blockchain analysis company, are believed to be holding money that was earned illegally. Additionally, a startling 40% surge in crypto phishing attacks was seen in the preceding year. These statistics also demonstrate how successful law enforcement is in stopping these illegal acts, though.