DOJ's 'Disruption Week' Freezes $3.8M in Crypto with Big Tech Help
The U.S. Department of Justice's 'Disruption Week' initiative, held from May 18-21 in Washington D.C., brought together private sector firms including Coinbase, Apple, SpaceX, Google, Meta, and Microsoft alongside law enforcement agencies to combat crypto fraud linked to Southeast Asian organized crime. The collaboration resulted in over $3.8 million in frozen cryptocurrency, disruption of more than 1.4 million social media and email accounts used by scammers, and the arrest of seven individuals in Thailand. The effort targeted transnational scammers and Chinese organized crime groups exploiting U.S. internet infrastructure. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro emphasized that private firms took voluntary actions to interrupt millions of accounts, while FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted the strengthening of partnerships. This comes as the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report revealed Americans lost nearly $11.4 billion to crypto fraud, a 22% increase from the previous year. Earlier in 2025, crypto firms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance had already flagged $45 million in fraud-related funds, freezing $12 million.
Key facts
- DOJ's 'Disruption Week' froze $3.8M in crypto and disrupted 1.4M accounts.
- Private firms like Coinbase, Apple, SpaceX, Google, Meta, Microsoft participated.
- Seven individuals arrested in Thailand for crypto fraud.
- Americans lost $11.4B to crypto fraud in 2025, up 22% from 2024.
- Earlier 2025, Coinbase, Kraken, Binance flagged $45M, froze $12M in fraud funds.