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ARTICLE · 14 OCTOBER 2020

DOJ Cyber-Digital Task Force Releases Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Building off a 2018 alert outlining cyber threats generally, and following the federal indictment for money laundering of the founders of the offshore cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, on Oct. 8, 2020, the U.S.

United StatesTechnology
Alan Friedman
Alan Friedman
Darren LaVerne
Darren LaVerne
Arielle Warshall Katz
Arielle Warshall Katz
Patrick J. Campbell
Patrick J. Campbell
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Building off a 2018 alert outlining cyber threats generally, and following the federal indictment for money laundering of the founders of the offshore cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, on Oct. 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released an 83-page report1 that recognizes both the "breathtaking possibilities" that distributed ledger technologies present for society and the important role that "technology already plays ... in many of the most significant criminal and national security threats our nation faces." The report begins with a discussion of several categories of illicit cryptocurrency use, discusses the many legal and regulatory tools available to confront the threats posed by illicit cryptocurrency use, particularly through the development of interagency partnerships, and concludes with an overview of ongoing enforcement challenges in regulating certain business models and cryptocurrency market activity.

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