Senators Roll Out SAFE Crypto Act to Crack Down on Crypto Scams—Here’s What You Need to Know
Washington takes aim at the digital Wild West. A new bipartisan bill—the SAFE Crypto Act—just landed in the Senate, promising to bring the hammer down on fraud and manipulation in cryptocurrency markets.
The Regulatory Reckoning
For years, the crypto space operated in a gray area. Scams proliferated, from pump-and-dumps to outright theft, with bad actors often slipping through regulatory cracks. This legislation seeks to change that by explicitly defining digital assets as securities or commodities under existing law, giving agencies like the SEC and CFTC clear authority to pursue enforcement.
It mandates stricter disclosure requirements for issuers and platforms, aiming to pull back the curtain on operations. The goal? To protect retail investors who've been the primary fuel—and casualties—of the latest speculative frenzy.
Industry on Edge
The proposal is already sending shockwaves through crypto circles. While established players publicly welcome "clarity," behind the scenes there's scrambling. The compliance costs could be staggering, potentially kneecapping smaller innovators while cementing the dominance of the few who can afford to play ball with Washington's rulebook—a familiar tune in finance where regulation often builds moats for incumbents.
The Bottom Line
This isn't just another bill; it's a potential inflection point. Tighter rules may squeeze short-term volatility and scare off fly-by-night schemes, but they also lay the foundational plumbing for mainstream institutional adoption. The era of "move fast and break things" is colliding with the old-world mantra of "trust, but verify." One thing's certain: the freewheeling days are numbered. The market's next bull run might just be the most regulated one yet.
SAFE Crypto Act strengthens Federal Anti-Fraud coordination
LATEST: 🇺🇸 Two US senators have introduced a bipartisan bill called the SAFE Crypto Act that would establish a federal task force to help identify, track and stop crypto fraud. pic.twitter.com/dnjlo9E7yM
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) December 18, 2025
Jerry Moran and Elissa Slotkin noted that the SAFE Crypto Act requires the task force to provide the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees, as well as the House Financial Services and Agriculture committees, with an initial update within one year of its creation. The task force must also submit follow-up reports to those panels on an annual basis.
“It’s critical we protect Americans against scams in all industries, but especially cryptocurrency as it becomes more popular. This task force, established by the SAFE Crypto Act, will allow us to draw upon every resource we have to combat fraud in digital assets.”
–Elissa Slotkin, U.S. Senator.
Sen. Moran mentioned that the SAFE Crypto Act would help combat threats and ensure that all Americans are better protected from bitcoin scams as cryptocurrency becomes more widely used.
Ari Redbord, Vice President and Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, stated that his team has tracked billions of dollars in fraud and scams throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem over the past two years. He emphasized that real-time interruption is necessary to address the issue of crypto fraud.
According to Redbord, the law enables public-private partnerships to utilize blockchain intelligence to monitor, disrupt, and dismantle illicit networks as they operate. He noted that combining business and law enforcement can significantly lessen the capacity of criminals to use transformational technologies for malicious purposes.
Crypto investment scams increase, targeting senior investors
The two U.S. Senators introduced the SAFE Crypto Act at a time when more Americans are falling victim to cryptocurrency-related frauds, with senior investors being especially vulnerable.
On April 24, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported Americans lost over $9.3 billion in 2024 as a result of cryptocurrency investment schemes. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report revealed that the $9.3 billion loss represented a 66% increase over the previous year, which had a loss of $5.3 million.
“Cryptocurrency has become an enticing means to cheat investors, launder proceeds, and engage in other illicit schemes.”
–Chad Yarbrough, Operations Director for the FBI’s Criminal and Cyber Branch.
The FBI said that many crypto frauds don’t rely on breaking into cryptocurrency networks. Instead, they mislead people into giving them their money by using techniques like social engineering, posing as someone else, and gradually building trust over time.
The agency report emphasized that investment fraud, such as pig slaughtering, is the biggest category of cryptocurrency fraud.
Chainalysis’ 2025 Crypto Crime Report revealed that illicit cryptocurrency volume hit $51.3 billion in 2024 as on-chain criminal activity became more varied, confirming the expanding relevance of bitcoin in criminal operations. The report said the centralized services were the “most targeted” in the second and third quarters of last year. Chainalysis also noted that DeFi services accounted for the majority of the stolen funds.
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