Cryptocurrency intimidates most people. The reason is straightforward. People fear what they do not understand. When confusion sets in, the common reaction is either to ignore the subject entirely or to mistrust it. For years, that is exactly how most of the public and even many in law enforcement treated cryptocurrency.
However, such apprehension changed when the crypto market ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar industry, and everyday Americans began losing their investments to a surge in scams. Many turned to the police for help, only to find that most local departments were not equipped to handle these complex digital crimes.
Suddenly, cryptocurrency was no longer a fringe issue. It was a criminal justice crisis.
The Path of a Crypto Crime
Here is what usually happens.
The victim realizes something is wrong. Their wallet is empty. The funds are missing. They file a report at the local police precinct. From there, the case is referred to a detective, who attempts to collect details and make sense of the digital trail. In jurisdictions with cybercrime or financial crimes units, that detective might have some familiarity with crypto wallets and blockchain transactions. In other places, it is often a crash course. Investigators begin googling phrases like "blockchain," and "crypto keys," just to understand the issues at hand.
Eventually, the case might be passed on to a prosecutor. That is where I came in. During my time as an Assistant District Attorney, I helped oversee several digital currency investigations. I saw firsthand the challenges, the delays, and the breakthroughs that come with trying to enforce the law in a space that was built to resist traditional oversight.
The first step is always the same. Trace the money. That means drafting subpoenas to exchanges, custodial wallets, or trading platforms. Once sent out, we wait for the results, which can take days or even weeks. Once we get the information back, we analyze it. If we are lucky, we get IP addresses, login timestamps, and transaction histories. That data helps us prepare freeze orders or seizure warrants. However, these orders and warrants must be carefully drafted and approved by a judge before they can be executed, which can take a considerable amount of time.
To the credit of many major cryptocurrency exchanges, especially those operating in or near the United States, they usually cooperate in a timely manner. These platforms want to be seen as legitimate businesses. They want to get in the good graces of government, and in most cases, they provide what we request.
That is the good news. The bad news is that the scammers know how long this process takes. By the time we receive the results of our subpoenas, have our warrants approved, and are finally ready to freeze assets, the funds are often already gone. They have been transferred to other wallets, swapped for privacy coins, or moved off-chain entirely. In some cases, the money has jumped across dozens of wallets.
One investigation I worked on revealed billions of dollars flowing through a single wallet located in Nigeria. We had the records. We had the transactions. What we did not have was the speed required to catch the criminals in time.
The Secret Most People Don't Know
As a former prosecutor, let me share a truth that most people do not realize. There is a widespread myth that cryptocurrency offers complete anonymity. Many believe that once funds are sent to a crypto wallet, they vanish into a digital void beyond the reach of the law.
That belief is wrong.
Cryptocurrency is not anonymous. Every transaction on a blockchain is recorded permanently and publicly. Wallet addresses can be tracked. Transfers leave trails. Time-stamped blocks reveal the exact sequence of events. This is not like cash, where money changes hands in the shadows and leaves no trace. Crypto is the opposite. Blockchain forensics firms and trained analysts, many of whom are now in law enforcement, can follow the trail with stunning precision.
The challenge is not whether law enforcement can trace the money. They can. The challenge is moving fast enough to act before the money is gone.
Nevertheless, the gap between the speed of technology and the speed of the justice system is real. Criminals exploit this gap every day. But law enforcement is catching up. Cybercrime units are expanding. New task forces are emerging across jurisdictions, and partnerships between exchanges, tech firms, and government agencies are becoming common.
Protecting Yourself in the Digital Age
My advice is to protect your wallets. Never share your seed phrase. Be skeptical of unsolicited investment opportunities. Understand that if something sounds too good to be true in the world of crypto, it almost certainly is.
Justice may move slower than the blockchain. But it is moving. And it is catching up.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
