Speaking at a recent event in Washington, D.C., a senior official from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),

 

Speaking at a recent event in Washington, D.C., a senior official from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Nicole Argentieri, has announced that the federal agency will more than double the number of prosecutors in its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET).  Argentieri also said the NCET will become a permanent unit within the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) as part of the reorganization. Also, Claudia Quiroz will be the new leader of the NCET as the acting director as the current director Eun Young Choi departed to move on to a new position within the DOJ.  The CCIPS director will also serve as the deputy chief of the crypto enforcement unit. Argentieri stated that the NCET would be able to access more resources by integrating into the CCIPS amid strong growth in its caseload.  The move will also put the prosecutors in the NCET in the same status as the ones in the CCPIS.   The restructuring in the unit came shortly after DOJ officials said cryptocurrency started playing a bigger role in almost every area of the criminal world.  The DOJ launched its crypto enforcement unit in 2021 amid concerns about the increase in crypto-related crimes, such as money laundering and terrorism financing.  Since then, the unit helped other federal agencies in many investigations, including those into the previously third-largest crypto exchange FTX's collapse and Binance's alleged violations of U.S. laws.