Secret Service Amasses $400M Crypto War Chest in Decade-Long Fraud Fight

The U.S. Secret Service has quietly accumulated one of the world's largest cryptocurrency stockpiles through relentless enforcement actions. Nearly $400 million in digital assets now sits in government cold wallets, seized from scammers operating elaborate fraud schemes.

Romance investment scams have emerged as a particularly insidious tactic, with criminals creating fake dating profiles to exploit victims. Americans lost $9.3 billion to crypto fraud in 2024 alone—more than half of all internet crime losses recorded that year.

The agency's Global Investigative Operations Center employs cutting-edge forensic techniques, combining blockchain analysis with traditional investigative methods. Analysts track digital footprints through VPN usage, domain records, and transaction patterns across multiple blockchains.

International cooperation forms another critical pillar of this effort. The Secret Service has trained law enforcement officials in over 60 countries, creating a global network capable of tracing crypto transactions across jurisdictions.