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FBI Needs a Dark Web, Crypto Strategy, DOJ's Inspector General Says
FBI lacks a "comprehensive strategy for addressing the cryptocurrency threat in the future," OIG wrote.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:44 a.m. Published Dec 17, 2020, 6:29 p.m.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a dark web-sized hole in its cyber crime strategy, according to the Department of Justice's chief watchdog.
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- The DOJ Office of Inspector General (OIG) told the FBI Thursday to develop a “dark web strategy” to better coordinate investigations of child and sex trafficking, drug, cyber crimes and weapons of mass destruction that intersect with the internet’s unindexable shadow layer.
- FBI should also implement a “cryptocurrency support strategy,” OIG said. Bitcoin cyber crimes are rising annually ($100 million in bitcoin seized last year), so agents need better, broader, more accessible training on cryptocurrency.
- Agents told the OIG they’re fearful the rising cost of analytics tools will outpace their shoestring crypto investigative budgets. They got just $1.5 million in direct funding for tracing tools in 2019 for products and training estimated at $4.2 million.
- “The dwindling resources also shed light on FBI concerns that it had no comprehensive strategy for addressing the cryptocurrency threat in the future,” OIG wrote.
- FBI is “in the process” of requesting up to $2 million to fund the consolidation of its crypto efforts, according to the redacted report.
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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U.S. Senate's Crypto Market Structure Bill Gets Messy as Calendar Weighs Down
The White House has shut down proposals, and lawmakers are circulating the Democrats' asks in what had been a close negotiation, revealing 11th-hour pressure.
What to know:
- Democrats shared a response to Republicans outlining their continuing priorities for a crypto market structure bill, which they said was intended to "reach an agreement and proceed towards a mark-up."
- The document laid out concerns with financial stability, market integrity and public officials' ability to trade and profit off of crypto, echoing concerns laid out in a framework Democrats shared in September.
- The Senate is running out of time in the Congressional calendar to hold a markup hearing — a key step toward progressing the bill — before 2025 ends.
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