U.S. House bill would erect crypto-theft task force across law enforcement agencies

Crypto theft from criminal fraud and hacking would be the jurisdiction of a new U.S. cross-agency task force contemplated in a bipartisan bill introduced on Thursday, backed by well-placed lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Task Force would be led by the U.S. attorney general, according to bill text reviewed by CoinDesk, and it would involve the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department, among others.

The legislation is sponsored by Representative Lance Gooden, a Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and by a Democrat on House Financial Services Committee, Representative Josh Gottheimer.

“Crypto criminals are stealing billions from Americans, and Washington lacks a coordinated strategy to stop them,” Gooden, a Texas Republican, said in a statement to CoinDesk. “As digital assets shape the future of finance, this bill protects consumers, cracks down on thieves, and strengthens trust in the crypto ecosystem.”

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.

In 2021 — during the administration of President Joe Biden — the Joint Ransomware Task Force was established to coordinate across federal agencies in a similar fashion and in a related vein, because ransomware attacks are often associated with crypto payments.

And last year, the Treasury Department set up a Scam Center Strike Force to work with other law enforcement agencies to deal with overseas scams that seek to trick people into sending crypto. The group, led by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, says it seized more than $700 million in crypto from the scams, often backed by Chinese organized crime groups through intermediaries in Southeast Asia.

It’s not yet clear whether the new task force legislation will find an avenue for passage in the busy congressional session. Bills need to either find a track through a House committee or get attached to a must-move legislative package.

The Digital Chamber, a Washington group supporting crypto policy, said in a statement about this legislative effort that it’s “critical that law enforcement agencies have the tools, training and coordination necessary to investigate theft, trace illicit activity, support victims and pursue bad actors.”