Human’s ability to envision things grander than themselves has certainly done a lot to trigger our progression over the years, but sometimes such a skill can cause disruption as well. This can be strongly testified by all the regulatory bodies we have around the block. These authorities have been designed to look over us and our operations, so when we pivot towards a direction that goes beyond their reach, problems begin to appear on the horizon. This is what exactly happened when technology set its foot in the commercial sphere. For years, organizations had to abide by the rules that were barely deferential to their core operations; however, the control dynamic now looked ready for a reshuffle, as these businesses finally had something that gave them a long-awaited edge. To even out the effects of it, the authorities masterminded their own foray into technology. The bold call paid off to a great extent, and the only reason why it didn’t necessarily put the regulators right alongside the companies was because the latter had taken another step ahead during this time. With the new step, companies reached a point that the authorities won’t get anywhere near to for at least a few years. One of the constituents that formed the identity of the said stride would be cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency has carried an obscure image ever since life was blown into it, and that vague nature would consistently pave the way for illicit activities to take place in its name. While there have been attempts to examine these activities from up close, all the investigations lacked one element or the other, keeping them from being wholly meaningful. Nevertheless, the Justice Department of U.S. has now dropped a bombshell of a decision in the cryptocurrency context, and it looks big enough to shake up the entire landscape.
The U.S, Justice Department has ordered the formation of a national cryptocurrency enforcement team (NCET), which will be tasked with handling investigations and prosecutions that are structured around illegal cryptocurrency use. Led by Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth Polite Jr., the enforcement team is expected to keep an eye on crimes being committed on every possible virtual currency exchange front. Examples of their responsibilities include supervising tumbling and mixing services, and recovering assets that were lost to extortion or fraud.
Lately, mixer or tumbler platforms have grown increasingly popular amongst the groups that have interest in money laundering. Their knack of concealing the owner’s information in the case of a transaction perfectly epitomizes the questionable area in which cryptocurrency has operated all along.
“As the technology advances, so too must the department evolve with it so that we’re poised to root out abuse on these platforms and ensure user confidence in these systems,” says Lisa Monaco, Deputy Attorney General.
Such a move has been on the cards for a while now. Recent decisions like blacklisting a Russian-owned cryptocurrency exchange that helped in facilitating ransomware payments, and charging the owner of mixer platform, Helix, have created just the right foundation for NCET to go ahead and make a difference.