With digital assets evolving faster every day, and the DeFi industry spreading across all corners of the globe, criminals have been quick to exploit its technology vulnerabilities, leading to frequent occurrences of cyber attacks and ransomware.ย
Some of the crimes centered around cryptocurrencies involve โtraffic in narcotics, hacking tools and illicit contraband online; commit thefts and scams; and launder the proceeds of their crimes,โ the Department of Justice wrote.
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The Department of Justice is forming a new digital currency unit and announced the inception of the national cryptocurrency enforcement team (NCET) with Eun Young Choi instated as its first director. Prior to the appointment, Ms. Choi acted as a Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, where she served for almost a decade. She is an accomplished leader in tackling crypto scams and cybercrime.
The main purpose of NCET is to address the rapidly growing crime rates around digital assets and distributed ledger technologies, not only in the U.S. but around the world:
โThe NCET will identify, investigate, support and pursue the departmentโs cases involving the criminal use of digital assets, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, infrastructure providers, and other entities that are enabling the misuse of cryptocurrency and related technologies to commit or facilitate criminal activity.โ On the Flipside
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As cryptocurrency laws become stricter in order to detect crime, decentralized finance end up transitioning more towards centralization.