FBI plans to invest $21 million to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency applications

The FBI is seeking 2100万美元in funding and 80 new jobs to research emerging technologies to help them fight cybercrime.

The budget request for fiscal year 2018 was submitted on June 21. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the White House that the agency is facing significant challenges in obtaining digital information, even when they have legal authority to do so. This includes "drug dealers using virtual currencies to hide their transactions."

Former FBI Director James Comey said as much last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The agency said the challenge is that the FBI needs to obtain more financial resources to research technology and decrypt information transmitted on the dark web. In addition, the agency is communicating with companies that provide such technology to explain to them the "adverse impact" of not being able to access information on "public safety and the rule of law."

Earlier this year, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) came to the attention of the FBI for this very reason.

An FBI agent from the New York Cyber ​​Division said at an event that the agency is concerned that this type of technology will hinder criminal investigations. The agency said:

Developing another technological approach is a very time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process.