U.S. Bill Proposes Federal Task Force to Hunt $11B in Crypto Thefts

Eleven billion dollars in crypto thefts and scams last year, and victims had "nowhere to turn," according to Rep. Josh Gottheimer. That's the problem a new bipartisan bill in the U.S. House aims to fix by standing up a cross-agency task force specifically for crypto theft, with the Attorney General in charge.

The Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Task Force would pull in the Department of Justice, FBI, Homeland Security, and Treasury Department—a single coordination point that's been missing. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced the legislation on Thursday, and the text makes clear this isn't a rehash of the DOJ's old National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. That team was disbanded early in the Trump administration, with new leaders arguing it was regulating through enforcement.

Why a New Task Force Now

Crypto theft isn't a niche problem anymore. From pig-butchering scams run by Chinese organized crime groups to state-backed hacks, the industry has been a constant target. The Treasury's Scam Center Strike Force—set up last year—already seized over $700 million from overseas scams, often routed through Southeast Asian intermediaries. But those efforts were scattered across agencies with inconsistent responses.

This bill forces coordination. The task force would be housed at the Justice Department, but it's voluntary for local law enforcement, respecting state and local control while providing a unified federal response. Dannis Porter of the Satoshi Action Fund called it "the unified federal response they have been missing."

What This Changes for Crypto's Regulatory Landscape

Previous approaches leaned on enforcement actions to regulate the industry. The new task force shifts the focus to theft and fraud specifically, not general compliance. That's a tactical play: it addresses the loudest criticism from crypto opponents—that digital assets are risk-prone and consumer-unfriendly—without expanding the regulatory apparatus across the entire sector.

The bill's path is uncertain. It needs to clear a House committee or hitch a ride on a must-pass package. But the bipartisan sponsorship (Gooden on Judiciary, Gottheimer on Financial Services) gives it legs. The Digital Chamber, a crypto policy group, called it "critical that law enforcement agencies have the tools, training and coordination necessary to investigate theft."

If it passes, expect the task force to lean heavily on blockchain analytics—Chainalysis, TRM Labs, the usual suspects—to trace flows that currently fall through jurisdictional cracks. The $700 million seizure from the Strike Force proves the model works; this bill scales it up.

Source: U.S. House bill would erect crypto-theft task force across law enforcement agencies
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