WASHINGTON, D.C.— Amanda Fischer, Policy Director & COO of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) recent Internet Crime Report showing a surge in crypto-related crimes while Congress considers legislation to further import crypto risks to the mainstream financial system:

“It’s boom times for crypto crime. The FBI’s most recent data showed a 66% year-over-year spike in total crypto-related losses to consumers and investors, now totaling $9.3 billion. All told, more than half of all cyber crime involved crypto, with complaints from harmed individuals more than doubling and older Americans reporting the highest levels of losses to crypto scams.

Amidst this backdrop of surging crypto crime, the Administration is shifting from being crypto’s referee to its cheerleader. Law enforcement agencies like the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have fired and reassigned staff, shifted enforcement policies and all but declared an amnesty period for various illicit finance violations.

The crypto industry likes to say that crime involving crypto is no big deal—either because other types of transactions are also used for money laundering or because the blockchain is supposedly fully traceable. But as this fact sheet lays out, the truth is that crypto is uniquely suited for criminal activities, with 98% of ransomware payments demanded by criminals coming in the form of Bitcoin. And claims about the traceability of blockchain data ignore the use of mixers, tumblers and chain hopping to obfuscate illicit flows of value.

With crypto crime run amok, Congress should reject efforts to further integrate crypto into Americans’ wallets. Current legislative efforts simply restate existing law—which is clearly not working nor being enforced by the current Administration.”

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.