A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to create a centralized federal task force to combat the rising tide of cryptocurrency theft and fraud, which cost Americans over $11 billion in 2025 alone. The legislation, titled the Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Enforcement and Coordination Act, is co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas (House Judiciary Committee) and Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey (House Financial Services Committee).
The proposed task force would be led by the U.S. Attorney General and would integrate efforts from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Treasury Department. Its primary mission is to provide a single, unified channel for victims to report crypto-related crimes, coordinate cross-agency investigations, and develop a standardized playbook for local law enforcement.
The scale of the problem is stark. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded 181,565 cryptocurrency-related complaints, marking a 21% surge from the previous year. Total losses exceeded $11.3 billion, with investment scams alone accounting for $7.2 billion. FBI data also highlighted that individuals over 60 filed 44,555 complaints and lost $4.43 billion to crypto scams. Separately, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs reported that wallets linked to illegal activities received $158 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, up sharply from $64.5 billion in 2024, driven mainly by sanctions evasion and nation-state actors. Yet the illicit share of all crypto activity still dropped slightly to 1.2%.
The bill seeks to fill the void left when the Trump administration disbanded the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) in 2025, which officials argued was being used to regulate crypto through lawsuits rather than purely targeting criminals. Currently, federal enforcement is fragmented across multiple agencies with overlapping mandates, leaving victims without a clear reporting path. The new task force would not only investigate but also enhance victim support — a move endorsed by groups like the Digital Chamber and Dennis Porter of the Satoshi Action Fund, who said law enforcement needs better tools and training.
While the bill is still early in the legislative process and must pass committees or be attached to a larger package, its introduction signals that Congress is treating crypto theft as a systemic threat. If enacted, it could accelerate probes into high-profile hacks and ransomware attacks, push exchanges and wallet providers toward stronger compliance, and tighten enforcement against crypto mixers and privacy protocols — potentially reshaping the U.S. regulatory landscape for digital assets.
