Justice Department, Treasury to set forth 'major' international crypto action

The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday it will hold a press conference at 12:00 p.m. ET to announce a "major international cryptocurrency enforcement action," according to a statement . The U.S. Treasury is also set to make an announcement. As such, remarks will be delivered in Washington by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. Other speakers will include Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr., U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and FBI Associate Deputy Director Brian Turner. In afternoon trading, major cryptos changed hands mostly in the red, with bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) down 1.5% to $20.85K and ethereum ( ETH-USD ) off 2.3% to $1.53K as of 11:17 a.m. ET. The DoJ, in particular, has been instrumental in cracking down on illicit crypto-related activities, having seized billions of dollars worth of crypto in November 2022 from Silk Road scammer James Zhong. A bevy of other agencies have intensified their scrutiny of crypto firms, including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which recently sued a Mango Markets exploiter for alleged price manipulation.