The United States Department of Justice wants to hire an attorney for cryptocurrency-related cases, as part of its effort to more broadly monitor the crypto market for criminal activity.
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The US Department of Justice is seeking a cryptocurrency attorney for its Criminal Division, according to a ad posted June 23. The hiring is part of its initiative on digital currencies, which as a whole has been growing at an accelerated rate. The new attorney will serve as a trial attorney in offices outside of Washington DC.
The position requests an attorney with knowledge of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, in addition to knowledge of money laundering and asset forfeiture. The body will accept applications until July 19, 2021.
As part of the responsibilities of the position, the attorney will have to “Identify unexploited opportunities to criminally prosecute professional money launderers and transmitters and financial institutions”. In addition, you will have to coordinate money laundering and forfeiture nationally and internationally.
The US Department of Justice recently recovered a large chunk of the bitcoin ransom paid to hacking group Darkside, which it received following the attack on Colonial Pipeline’s infrastructure. The incident helped fuel the Justice Department’s interest in cryptocurrencies.
High-level officials in the Biden administration have also spoken about threats to cybersecurity and the role that cryptocurrencies could play in them. One of these officials asked President Biden to raise the matter at the G7 Summit.
The US takes the reins of the cryptocurrency market
The attorney recruitment is just one of many initiatives the US is taking in its broad plan to regulate the cryptocurrency market. Numerous facts point to an increased level of activity, including statements by the US Secretary of the Treasury, the SEC Chairman, and the OCC’s Acting Comptroller.
Especially significant is the fact that US Senator Elizabeth Warren has lashed out at cryptocurrencies for failing to deliver on their promises. Instead, it has championed a Central Bank digital currency that, like many other countries, has said is better than private cryptocurrencies.
The fear that cryptocurrencies will be used for illicit activities is one of the most popular narrative threads today. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) spoke with Maltese officials about the oversights in their system. China, for its part, has asked banks to stop facilitating cryptocurrency-related transactions.
2021 has become the year of regulation and supervision of the cryptocurrency market, following the market boom and general public awareness. More developments of this type are likely to occur in the last half of the year.
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