US and UK Authorities Partner With Crypto Companies to Recover Millions in Stolen Funds

A coordinated US-UK enforcement initiative involving major crypto firms has traced and frozen millions in stolen funds, as new FBI data shows crypto scams reached $11.4 billion in losses in 2025, highlighting both the scale of illicit activity and the growing role of public-private collaboration in enforcement.

Operation Atlantic: Public-Private Crackdown on Crypto Fraud

A coordinated enforcement effort between US and UK authorities and leading crypto firms has resulted in the tracing and freezing of millions of dollars in stolen digital assets linked to fraud schemes.

The initiative, known as Operation Atlantic, brought together agencies including the U.S. Secret Service and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), alongside industry participants such as Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Chainalysis, and Tether.

Authorities said approximately $45 million in stolen crypto tied to fraud schemes was identified during the operation, with $12 million successfully frozen in an effort to return funds to victims.

The operation identified more than 20,000 victims, primarily linked to approval phishing scams, where attackers trick users into authorizing malicious transactions through fake prompts or impersonated interfaces.

Hosted at the National Crime Agency’s headquarters in London, the initiative involved a week-long investigative sprint that enabled agencies and firms to trace funds, identify victims, and disrupt fraud infrastructure in near real time. More than 120 malicious domains tied to scam activity were uncovered and taken down during the effort.

In a statement, NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Miles Bronfield described the operation as “a powerful example” of how international law enforcement and private sector actors can work together to stop financial crime and protect victims at scale.

Blockchain Transparency Accelerates Enforcement

Participants in the operation emphasized that blockchain technology played a key role in accelerating enforcement timelines. According to Coinbase, the ability to trace transactions on-chain enabled authorities to move from identification to action within a single coordinated effort, a process that would typically take months in traditional financial systems.

The operation remains ongoing, with agencies continuing to analyze intelligence gathered during the investigation to identify additional victims and disrupt further criminal networks.

Crypto Scam Losses Reach Record Levels

The enforcement action comes against a backdrop of rapidly rising crypto-related fraud. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), total losses from crypto scams reached $11.4 billion in 2025, marking a 22% increase year-on-year.

Crypto-related crimes accounted for the largest share of financial losses across all internet crime categories, with more than 180,000 complaints filed. Investment scams remained the primary driver, often involving fraudulent platforms that lure victims with promises of high returns before restricting withdrawals.

Older individuals were disproportionately affected, contributing a significant portion of reported losses, underscoring the human impact of increasingly sophisticated digital fraud schemes.

Evolving Threat Landscape: From Phishing to Advanced Social Engineering

Approval phishing, the focus of Operation Atlantic, represents one of the fastest-growing attack vectors in crypto. These schemes rely on deception rather than technical exploits, manipulating users into granting wallet permissions that allow attackers to drain funds.

They often intersect with broader fraud tactics such as impersonation campaigns, romance scams, and “pig butchering” schemes, where victims are gradually convinced to invest larger sums over time.

Recent incidents, including a $285 million exploit involving the Solana-based protocol Drift allegedly linked to North Korean actors, highlight the scale and diversity of threats facing the digital asset ecosystem.

Institutional Response and Industry Implications

The convergence of record-breaking scam losses and coordinated enforcement efforts points to a shift in how the industry is addressing financial crime.

Operations like Atlantic demonstrate the increasing importance of public-private collaboration, where exchanges, blockchain analytics firms, and stablecoin issuers work directly with law enforcement to trace, freeze, and potentially recover illicit funds.

At the same time, the scale of losses suggests that enforcement alone may not be sufficient. Industry stakeholders are expected to deepen investment in user protection, transaction monitoring, and fraud prevention mechanisms, particularly as crypto adoption expands globally.

Operation Atlantic highlights how blockchain transparency and cross-border coordination can deliver tangible enforcement outcomes. However, the widening gap between losses and recoveries suggests that prevention, not just enforcement, will be critical in addressing the next phase of crypto-related financial crime