Bitcoin Fraud Got Real for the US Govt., New Task Force Might Boost Investor Confidence

Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency market has become the center of attraction as Trump’s new task force that will be led by Department of Justice (DoJ) will be targeting the digital currencies in order to protect the interest of consumers.

Bitcoin frauds come into Trump’s focus

Given the recent bitcoin frauds and thefts in the cryptocurrency space, the market has gone through serious losses in terms of lost funds and loss of people’s confidence in the crypto market. Now the US government has apparently taken it upon itself to do something about the increasing bitcoin frauds and lack of customer protection in the digital assets along with other markets.

As per the latest developments, the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein along with a number of other senior government officials announced a new task force for consumer fraud and market integrity. The recent executive order established by President Donald Trump is going to cover the cryptocurrency crimes in its customer protection program under the scope of the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

The idea of the task force, presented by Rosenstein is to fight the crimes like money laundering and tax fraud, and further prosecute them.

Apart from Deputy Attorney, the Chairman of US SEC, Jay Clayton and the Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney along with Joseph James, the Head of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was present at the conference.

During the press conference in Washington, Rosenstein stated,

“We expect to focus on cases involving fraud against the government, the financial markets, and consumers; procurement and grant fraud; securities and commodities fraud; digital currency fraud; money laundering; health care fraud; tax fraud; and other financial crimes.”

Also, read: South Korean Banks Hold 2 Trillion Won ($1.8 Billion) Worth of Cryptocurrencies

Special task force to protect consumers from rising bitcoin frauds

Rosenstein is also the Chair of the task force that plans to not only go after the fraudulent schemes but also to discourage the crime. Specific attention will be given to the veterans, service members and elderly people by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Moreover, this task force will further recommend initiatives and legislation regarding investor protection to the President along with offering guidance to the ongoing investments. Jay Clayton, the SEC Chairman, also spoke about the SEC’s regulatory policy on cryptocurrency and ICOs. He further points out the need and importance of interagency cooperation to secure the investors’ funds.

“Punishing wrongdoing is important but it is no more important than getting victims their money back,”

said Clayton.

The task force will be having a number of government agencies involved that will take part in specific cases and actions. Moreover, the Chairman of CFTC, SEC, CFPB, FTC, Heads of Antitrust, Civil, Tax, and DOJ Criminal, FBI Director General, and Associate Attorney General will be the permanent members of the task force.

By working together with a number of agencies, the authorities wish to achieve effective and efficient results. This will certainly help the crypto market as the crimes like hacks, frauds, and thefts have shaken the crypto market a number of times resulting in the loss of millions. The task force will further help in building investor’s interest and faith in the crypto market.