Joe Biden: US Bringing 30 Countries Together to Stop 'Illicit Use of Cryptocurrency'

President Joe Biden says that the U.S. will bring together 30 countries to stop “the illicit use of cryptocurrency.” The United States is “partnering closely with nations around the world” to respond to the cybersecurity threats, Biden further said.

US Will Bring 30 Countries Together to Combat Illicit Use of Crypto, Says Biden

The White House released a statement by President Joe Biden Friday on the government’s cybersecurity efforts as October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

President Biden explained that the U.S. is “partnering closely with nations around the world” to respond to the cybersecurity threats, “including our NATO allies and G7 partners.” He added that this month:

The United States will bring together 30 countries to accelerate our cooperation in combating cybercrime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, and engaging on these issues diplomatically.

“The Federal government needs the partnership of every American and every American company in these efforts. We must lock our digital doors — by encrypting our data and using multifactor authentication, for example—and we must build technology securely by design, enabling consumers to understand the risks in the technologies they buy,” Biden continued.

The U.S. president opined: “I am committed to strengthening our cybersecurity by hardening our critical infrastructure against cyberattacks, disrupting ransomware networks, working to establish and promote clear rules of the road for all nations in cyberspace, and making clear we will hold accountable those that threaten our security.”

The Biden administration has been increasing efforts to fight ransomware. In September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced “a set of actions focused on disrupting criminal networks and virtual currency exchanges responsible for laundering ransoms” as part of the whole-of-government effort to counter ransomware.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in June that in many cases, cryptocurrencies “are used to facilitate money laundering, ransomware attacks, and other financial crimes.”