$9.3B lost – Can SAFE Crypto Act ‘protect Americans against scams’?

As crypto investment scams surge, a bipartisan group in the U.S. Senate is stepping in to close the enforcement gaps that have cost Americans billions.

On the 17th of December, Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the Strengthening Agency Frameworks for Enforcement of Cryptocurrency (SAFE) Crypto Act.

The bill arrives at a critical inflection point for the industry. While the primary market has seen increased institutional adoption, the “dark side” of the ecosystem is expanding even faster.

How does the SAFE Crypto Act differ from previous regulations?

Unlike previous attempts at crypto regulation that often bogged down in jurisdictional “turf wars” between the SEC and CFTC, the SAFE Crypto Act is uniquely pragmatic.

It mandates the creation of a specialized federal task force designed to synchronize the response of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, and the Secret Service.

By formalizing a pipeline between law enforcement and private sector blockchain intelligence, the legislation aims to move past reactive policing and toward real-time interdiction of illicit funds.

Remarking on this, Sen. Slotkin said in the statement, 

“It’s critical we protect Americans against scams in all industries, but especially cryptocurrency as it becomes more popular.

Slotkin added, 

“This task force, established by the SAFE Cryptocurrency Act, will allow us to draw upon every resource we have to combat fraud in digital assets.”

The 180-day countdown

If passed, the SAFE Crypto Act would put the Treasury Department on a strict timeline. 

Within 180 days, the Secretary of the Treasury must establish a task force designed to break the traditional “siloed” approach of government agencies.

Unlike past committees that operated strictly within government, this task force will be a hybrid of public and private entities. 

It will bring together senior officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Secret Service, alongside leading voices from the crypto industry, including exchanges and blockchain intelligence firms.

The inclusion of private‑sector participants is strategic. Regulators recognize that the data needed to track and stop scammers often resides on private ledgers and exchange order books, not in government databases.

Important mandates

The bill also acknowledges a hard truth found in the 2024 FBI Internet Crime Report, and that is the most devastating scams aren’t technical hacks of the blockchain, but “hacks” of the human psyche.

Last year, U.S. residents lost a staggering $9.3 billion to crypto-related schemes, a 66% surge from the previous year.

Most of these losses stemmed from social engineering and “pig butchering” schemes, where criminals spend months building trust with victims before siphoning their life savings.

To counter this growing threat, the SAFE Crypto Act mandates that the newly formed task force meet at least three times a year, focusing on three critical areas.

First, it must design advanced public-education campaigns that mirror the techniques scammers use, helping consumers recognize and resist increasingly sophisticated frauds.

Second, it will coordinate closely with foreign governments to target global “scam hubs” operating beyond U.S. borders.

Finally, within one year, the task force must deliver a comprehensive report identifying which existing laws have become ineffective, or “toothless”, against nonstop, 24/7 digital fraud, and recommend the legislative fixes needed to close those gaps.

€700M scam exposed

Recently, authorities dismantled a massive international cryptocurrency fraud and money‑laundering network. The group was responsible for stealing more than €700 million.

The first raid, conducted on the 27th of October, resulted in nine arrests. It also resulted in the seizure of over €1.5 million across Cyprus, Germany, and Spain.

In the second phase, investigators turned their attention to the affiliate marketing networks behind the scams. This operation shut down ad‑tech firms that had been funneling victim data.

Taken together, these coordinated actions represent a major global victory against organized cyber‑fraud. Investigations continue, and asset recovery efforts remain underway.

Final thoughts

• By mandating a unified federal task force, the bill finally breaks the long-standing silos between Treasury, DOJ, Secret Service, and private blockchain intelligence firms.
• With a one-year deadline for identifying weak laws, lawmakers are signaling that U.S. crypto-fraud policy is about to undergo its most significant overhaul yet.