The U.S. government seized 1,700 times more crypto in 2021 than in 2019

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The IRS seized $ 1.2 billion in crypto in 2021, according to the director of its cybercrime unit. This figure is exponentially higher than what has been entered in previous years.

CNBC reports show that the US government is sitting on a massive amount of bitcoin. The outlet reported that the government has increased its scrutiny of cryptocurrencies and is therefore confiscating more. Earlier this year, the IRS said it seized $ 3.5 billion in fiscal 2021.

The U.S. government is said to have seized 170,000% more crypto this year than in 2019. Speaking to CNBC, Jarod Koopman, director of the Internal Revenue Service’s cybercrime unit, said:

“In fiscal 2019, we had approximately $ 700,000 in crypto seizures. In 2020, it hit $ 137 million. And so far in 2021, we’re at $ 1.2 billion.

The government has auctioned bitcoin in the past, often at heavily undervalued prices. Its next auction will see the sale of $ 56 million in cryptocurrency linked to the BitConnect deal. However, the funds on this occasion will be used to reimburse the victims of the incident.

The jump in crypto-related confiscations is huge but somewhat surprising in retrospect. The crypto market has become more popular in recent years, with the price of assets rising along with it. This could explain why violators use crypto more.

Additionally, the US government has only recently started investigating the crypto market for weak spots. They are very concerned about preventing the misuse of the asset class to finance criminal activity, and this is one of their top priorities. To this end, the IRS and other government agencies are all working on various initiatives.

The US government is not slowing down the regulation of crypto

These initiatives include taxation, investor protection and the regulation of stablecoins. The IRS, in particular, has been working hard to introduce crypto-related clarifications into the 1040 tax form. It is also working with Taxbit to ensure that merchants report their numbers correctly.

Meanwhile, the SEC is examining a general framework that would make it easier to protect investors. They have made this point many times and are currently reviewing the many ETF applications. There has been some progress with the latter, although no spot ETF has yet been given the green light.

Stablecoins are proving to be a major issue for lawmakers and will likely see regulation in the coming months. Senator Elizabeth Warren spent a lot of time asking questions about Stables and DeFi during a recent Senate hearing.

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