DOJ appoints first director of new crypto enforcement team

The Department of Justice named Eun Young Choi to serve as the first director of its newly formed National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team ("NCET"), effective Thursday, according to a release. “With the rapid innovation of digital assets and distributed ledger technologies, we have seen a rise in their illicit use by criminals who exploit them to fuel cyberattacks and ransomware and extortion schemes; traffic in narcotics, hacking tools and illicit contraband online; commit thefts and scams; and launder the proceeds of their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Note the NCET, which is comprised of attorneys from across the DOJ with backgrounds in the decentralized space, was established to tackle challenges involving criminal misuses of digital assets. Moreover, “the NCET will play a pivotal role in ensuring that as the technology surrounding digital assets grows and evolves, the department in turn accelerates