The Secret Service owns crypto and has its own NFT collection

If there was an award for the organization least likely to talk about the crypto and NFT world, it would probably go to the Secret Service – the people tasked with protecting the nation’s leaders and visiting heads of state.

But on May 15, members of the US Secret Service San Francisco Field Office, along with the Bay Area’s Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT), did just that, making themselves available for questions from the r/cryptocurrency subreddit community during an Ask Me Anything ( AMA).

The picture begins to make more sense when you realize that the Secret Service is also responsible for safeguarding the nation’s financial infrastructure. Given blockchain’s ability to help actors circumvent sanctions and otherwise wreak financial havoc on even the most seasoned Web3 user, the security organization would always have a distinct interest in the crypto universe. While regulatory bodies in the US may be struggling to catch up to the innovativeness of crypto and NFTs, its criminal enforcement institutions are far from behind the curve.

Here’s what we learned from the AMA.

The Secret Service tells (almost) everyone

The two agencies answered dozens of questions from Reddit users that provided insight into how their teams approach the Web3 world from a security standpoint (as well as showcasing their teams’ sense of humor). Despite Web3’s notorious reputation for scams and fraud, the REACT team praised the blockchain’s transparent and immutable nature, citing these qualities as tools in the fight to track the flow of funds directed at illegal activities.

Other questions addressed whether US government employees were well-educated in all things crypto, to which the REACT task force responded by saying, “It’s fair to say that blockchain technology is not widely understood,” further citing that the lack of mainstream understanding crypto as the rationale behind doing AMA.

Such efforts by law enforcement to educate the public are ongoing. In February 2022, the Secret Service launched the Cryptocurrency Awareness Hub, which contains information about the agency’s latest work to combat the illicit use of blockchain technologies in an effort to spread public awareness of digital asset security.

When asked if team members from either organization own crypto, the Secret Service responded by saying, “We are definitely hodlers of crypto. Sometimes to understand the mechanics of certain assets or blockchains, you have to be hands-on and do some of your own transactions. »

Interestingly, when the agency was jokingly asked when the Secret Service would launch a meme coin, the agency responded by linking to its own nine-part NFT collection on OpenSea. The collection features a faceless 3D agent character in a black suit and tie in various action scenes and poses.

The entire AMA is well worth reading. One Reddit user even asked the teams when to tell them about the “aliens,” to which the Secret Service replied, “Full report being released,” and left it at that. Well played, Secret Service.