U.S. Puts $150 Million Into Fighting Crypto Fraud With CLARITY Act

The U.S. wants to crack down harder on crypto fraud with extra funding and stricter rules. The Senate is now reviewing the CLARITY Act, which would also allow new investigative tools.

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. wants to invest $150 million to better detect crypto fraud and other crimes in the digital asset market.
• The funding in the CLARITY Act is meant to help FinCEN with extra anti-money laundering programs, suspicious activity reports, and blockchain analysis tools.
• The Senate will soon vote on the CLARITY Act, which also includes stricter rules for digital asset kiosks.

The U.S. government wants to invest $150 million to better track down crypto scammers and other bad actors in the digital asset market. The amount is included in the CLARITY Act, a bill that is set for a full Senate vote soon.

Purpose of the Funding

The extra money is meant for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a part of the U.S. Treasury that investigates suspicious money flows. With this funding, FinCEN can expand its anti-money laundering programs, handle more suspicious activity reports, and use advanced blockchain analysis tools. It also supports a pilot program that lets companies share threat intelligence with federal law enforcement.

Crypto fraud has surged in the U.S.: in 2024, Americans lost a combined $9.3 billion to crypto-related internet crime, with people over 60 hit especially hard. At Bitcoin ATMs alone, more than $65 million in losses were reported in the first half of 2024, and about 71 percent of that came from older adults. The U.S. response comes at a time when the fallout from major fraud cases is still being felt; in the Sam Bankman-Fried case, the harsh sentence was recently upheld.

Where the CLARITY Act Stands

The CLARITY Act was approved by a wide margin in the House of Representatives in July 2025 and also got support from the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026. The bill is now headed for a final Senate vote, where supporters are hoping for quick approval. At the same time, critics warn that the bill could still leave gaps for illegal financial activity.

The bill also includes stricter rules for digital asset kiosks, a fast-growing channel for fraud. Providers would get a safe harbor to pause suspicious transactions if law enforcement asks them to.

Why This Matters for the European Crypto Market

Even though the CLARITY Act is a U.S. law, the approach to crypto fraud and stronger oversight could also matter for European crypto investors and companies. It shows that major markets are putting more money into stopping abuse and creating clear rules, which could affect international cooperation and regulation around digital assets.