Two U.S. lawmakers want to stand up a federal task force dedicated to cryptocurrency theft — and they're pointing to more than $11 billion in reported losses as the reason why. Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced the Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Enforcement and Coordination Act on June 11. The bill would create a task force inside the Department of Justice that pulls together investigators from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and other agencies.
Why now?
The DOJ disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) in April 2025, telling staff in a memo that the unit's approach amounted to “regulation by prosecution.” The memo signaled a shift toward targeting individual criminal misuse of digital assets rather than building big cases against exchanges or protocols. But a little over a year later, the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report clocked 181,565 cryptocurrency-related complaints and more than $11 billion in losses. Total cyber-enabled losses across all categories pushed past $21 billion. The timing isn't coincidental: the bill arrives as the agency that was supposed to lead crypto enforcement is no longer in that role.
What the task force can — and can't — do
The proposed unit wouldn't write regulations or supervise exchanges. The bill explicitly says the task force has zero regulatory authority over cryptocurrency markets, digital assets, or financial institutions, and it doesn't change existing federal rules. Instead, its job is to develop best practices for evidence collection, asset tracing, and victim engagement, while offering technical assistance to state and local law enforcement. Senior representatives from DOJ, FBI, DHS (including Homeland Security Investigations), and Treasury (including FinCEN) would sit on the task force. The attorney general can also bring in other agencies as needed.
A gap the FBI's numbers make plain
With NCET gone, there's no single federal body coordinating crypto theft cases that cross state lines — and the FBI data suggests those cases aren't slowing down. The $11 billion figure covers just the complaints the bureau recorded; actual losses are likely higher. A task force that links federal investigators with state and local cops could speed up asset freezes and help victims navigate a fragmented system. The bill doesn't create new crimes or penalties; it's purely about coordination and training.
The legislation is now before Congress. Whether it moves quickly — or sits — depends on how lawmakers weigh the DOJ's recent shift away from broad crypto enforcement against the rising loss numbers the FBI keeps logging.
