Key Takeaways
- In response to President Biden’s March 9, 2022 Executive Order on digital assets, the DOJ announced the formation of a new network of prosecutors tasked with becoming specialists in investigating and prosecuting alleged digital asset and cryptocurrency criminal activity.
- DOJ simultaneously released a report with priority legislative and regulatory goals for digital asset crime, including strengthening penalties, increasing statute-of-limitations periods, and expanding the anti-tip-off provision, which make it a crime for officers or agents of financial institutions to notify customers when their records are subpoenaed.
- These latest developments further reinforce the Biden Administration’s continued commitment to increasing regulatory and enforcement oversight of the digital asset industry.
- Digital asset market participants should continue to monitor announcements made by U.S. regulators and law enforcement, and be proactive in preparing for increased government scrutiny.
The United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) announced the establishment of the nationwide Digital Asset Coordinator (the “DAC”) Network of federal prosecutors on September 16, 2022.1 As we have discussed in several recent OnPoints2, this is the latest in a series of actions by United States law enforcement to ramp up capacity for prosecuting alleged criminal activity in the digital asset and cryptocurrency space. Members of the DAC are intended to act as their Office’s subject-matter expert on digital assets and develop best practices for investigating suspected digital assets-related crimes. The DAC will comprise of more than 150 federal prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Offices and other special litigation divisions nationwide.3
President Biden’s March 2022 Executive Order on Digital Assets
The formation of the DAC is part of the DOJ’s response to President Biden’s March 9, 2022 Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital…
