The nine reports together "articulate a clear framework for responsible digital asset development and pave the way for further action at home and abroad". They call on agencies to promote "innovation by kickstarting private-sector research and development and helping cutting-edge U.S. firms find footholds in global markets".

But the reports also call for measures to mitigate the downside risks, such as increased enforcement of existing laws and the creation of "common-sense efficiency standards for cryptocurrency mining". 

Recognising the potential benefits and risks of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the reports encourage the Federal Reserve to "continue its ongoing CBDC research, experimentation, and evaluation and call for the creation of a Treasury-led interagency working group to support the Federal Reserve’s efforts".

The report discusses the manner in which illicit actors are exploiting digital asset technologies; the challenges that digital assets pose to criminal investigations; initiatives that the department and law enforcement agencies have established as part of whole-of-government efforts to more effectively detect, investigate, prosecute, and otherwise disrupt these crimes; and recommended regulatory and legislative actions to further enhance law enforcement’s ability to address digital asset crimes.

The report identifies three proposals as priorities:

1) expanding to virtual asset service providers the laws preventing employees of financial institutions from tipping off suspects to ongoing investigations;

2) strengthening the law criminalizing the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses; and 

3) extending the statute of limitations of certain statutes to account for the complexities of digital assets investigations.

The DoJ also announced the establishment of the nationwide Digital Asset Coordinator (DAC) Network, in furtherance of the department’s efforts to "combat the growing threat posed by the illicit use of digital assets to the American public."

Led by the NCET, in close coordination with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Digital Currency Initiative, the DAC Network is composed of designated federal prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide and the department’s litigating components. Each DAC will act as their office’s subject-matter expert on digital assets, serving as a first-line source of information and guidance about legal and technical matters related to these technologies.

Commenting on the announcements, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said:

“As digital assets play a growing role in our global financial system, we must work in tandem with departments and agencies across government to prevent and disrupt the exploitation of these technologies to facilitate crime and undermine our national security.

“The efforts announced today reflect the commitment of the Justice Department and our law enforcement and regulatory partners to advancing the responsible development of digital assets, protecting the public from criminal actors in this ecosystem, and meeting the unique challenges these technologies pose.” 

The White House issued a fact sheet regarding the publication of the report.

The DOJ said that 36-year-old Larry Harmon, of Akron, Ohio, has been charged with money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and conducting money transmission without a D.C. license.

The indictment alleges that from 2014 to 2017 Harmon operated Helix, a bitcoin 'mixer' or 'tumbler' which allowed customers, for a fee, to send bitcoin to recipients in a way that concealed the source or owner of the bitcoin.

The DOJ added that Helix was also linked to Grams, a darknet search engine run by Harmon. "Harmon advertised Helix to customers on the darknet as a way to conceal transactions from law enforcement," the DOJ said.

The indictment alleges that Helix moved over 350,000 bitcoins worth more than $300 million on behalf of customers mainly from darknet markets. Helix worked with darknet market AlphaBay to offer bitcoin laundering services for its customers. AlphaBay was one of the largest darknet marketplaces in operation when it was seized by law enforcement in 2017.

Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said that Helix "allegedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit narcotics proceeds and other criminal profits for Darknet users around the globe."

He added:

"This indictment underscores that seeking to obscure virtual currency transactions in this way is a crime, and that the Department can and will ensure that such crime doesn’t pay."