Overview
- At a White House roundtable on Oct. 21, President Trump and senior officials said federal action has frozen roughly $833 million to $938 million in cryptocurrency linked to overseas scam operations.
- The administration credits the effort with taking down more than 500 fraudulent investment websites and warning over 9,000 to 10,000 Americans judged likely to be targeted.
- Justice Department prosecutors and a multi-agency Scam Center Strike Force have pursued seizures and restraints and used Treasury sanctions such as the Xinbi action to disrupt infrastructure that sells scam sites and laundering services.
- Law enforcement warns that restrained crypto is not the same as returned money because civil forfeiture and victim-remission processes are slow and partial, so practical recovery for victims remains uncertain.
- The crackdown comes as FBI data show crypto was the largest loss category in 2025 with about $11.37 billion reported lost and as media and lawmakers continue to scrutinize the president’s family crypto ties and prior decisions.