The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a new federal task force dedicated to cracking down on crypto-scams. It targets large-scale schemes run out of Southeast Asia that have defrauded tens of thousands of Americans and resulted in billions of dollars in losses.
🔍 Why this matters
The size of the crime is huge: losses reported at ~$9.3 billion in 2024, a 66% increase from the previous year.
The task force is multinational, involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Secret Service, U.S. Treasury & State Dept, and will cooperate with tech companies to shut down misleading crypto websites.
This signals that regulators are shifting from laissez-faire to enforcement mode in crypto — something all participants should pay attention to.
