Wachtell Lipton Discusses the Growing Enforcement Focus on Cryptoassets

Underscoring that misconduct surrounding cryptoassets has become a top U.S. enforcement priority, the Department of Justice announced on February 17 the appointment of Eun Young Choi as head of a dedicated National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.  The NCET’s mandate is to oversee complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, including where involving virtual currency exchanges, mixing services, and facilitators of money laundering.  The appointment comes on the heels of DOJ’s seizure last week—its largest financial seizure ever—of over $3.6 billion of bitcoin from, and arrest of, the alleged perpetrators of a massive 2016 hacking incident targeting the Bitfinex exchange.  … Read more