Justice Department Convenes Summit On Digital Currency And The Blockchain

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Justice sponsored a day-long conference today on digital currency at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch.  The event brought together approximately 175 participants involved with digital currency and blockchain—the public ledger of all bitcoin transactions.  With the goal of identifying and examining effective strategies to reduce criminal activity on digital currency platforms, the conference was attended by representatives from law enforcement, government regulators, major financial institutions, technology companies, legislative staff, non-profits, and universities.  

The summit represents a large scale outreach by government enforcement and regulators on the one hand, and industry participants on the other, to discuss common goals.  Today’s formal program included four panels that described emerging issues in digital currency from the perspective of: (1) the digital currency industry, (2) law enforcement, (3) regulators, and (4) the blockchain industry. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch gave the keynote address.  “As emerging technologies such as digital currency and block chains expand into new and legitimate applications, it becomes all the more critical for industry leaders and government agencies to share insights and perspectives in order to combat the illicit use of these technologies,” said Mr. Stretch.  “The exchange of ideas at today's summit is an important step toward allowing creative thinkers to responsibly develop innovative tools to service the world economy.”  Mr. Stretch recognized many of the participates in the conference who, he pointed out, included Assistant U.S. Attorneys from other districts around the country.  

“FinCEN [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network] was the first regulator to address virtual currency.” said FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery. “But we only opened the door for the hundreds of other questions beyond our anti-money laundering perspective.  It is vitally important that government regulators and law enforcement agencies engage with the leaders of the virtual currency sector to make sure we understand each other. Working together will benefit all sides.”

The summit was planned by the Digital Currency Task Force, a multi-agency task force comprised of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and local partners, and based in San Francisco.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California is one of a number of districts that has developed an expertise in investigating and prosecuting crimes using digital currency, the dark net, and related technologies.