Today’s modern companies increasingly embrace the use of cryptocurrency and continue to integrate it into their businesses. Yet simultaneously, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in payments to cyber criminals, exceeding $400 million in 2020 alone, with this sum primarily paid in cryptocurrency. As part of an attempt to combat growing criminal activity in this area, the Department of Justice recently announced the formation of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). Simultaneously, the government has sought to increase private-sector reporting of cyber-attacks, and signaled that enforcement actions may be brought against companies that fail to report such attacks.
This program analyzes the government’s expanding enforcement capabilities, its likely enforcement priorities, and what these developments mean for companies dealing with cryptocurrency. We will also discuss recent enforcement actions.