U.S. DOJ Cracks Down on Crypto Exchanges Engaged in Illicit Activities

• The U.S. DOJ will target crypto exchanges that engage in or allow criminal activity.
• DOJ also focuses on crimes related to decentralized finance.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will target crypto exchanges that engage in or allow criminal activity, such as money laundering. Moreover, the illicit transaction rate has surged up to $20 billion in 2022, which is an increase of 40% from 2021.

On Monday, the Financial Times reported that the U.S. cryptocurrency enforcement tsar stated the country would increase its examination of crypto exchanges in order to target illicit activities on the platform. 

The US DOJ is Eyeing Companies that Involve in Crimes

Eun Young Choi, director of the national crypto enforcement team at the U.S. Department of Justice, revealed that the agency is eyeing the companies that involved in the crimes or allowing them to happen.

The US DOJ reported that hacks and crimes witnessed significant growth in the crypto market over the past four years. This increase results in agencies looking for exchanges that involve illicit activities. 

According to reports, the DOJ aims to build up scrutiny by sending a deterrent message to businesses. If a firm has gained a significant amount of market share because they are flaunting U.S. criminal laws, now we are grown to be too big to fail.

Choi mentioned that with the crypto exchanges and companies, the DOJ also focuses on crimes like thefts and hacks related to decentralized finance. Especially the chain bridge that allows users to exchange different types of digital tokens.