WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Thursday it is opening a new cybersecurity information-sharing initiative for the digital asset sector, giving eligible U.S. crypto firms and industry groups access—at no cost—to the same actionable threat intelligence Treasury already shares with traditional financial institutions.
Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection said the program is intended to help firms better identify, prevent and respond to cyber threats targeting customers and networks.
Treasury framed the move as a sign that digital asset firms are becoming more systemically relevant. In announcing the initiative, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Luke Pettit said digital asset companies are “an increasingly important part of the U.S. financial sector,” while Treasury officials tied the effort to a recommendation in the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report, Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.
The announcement also continues Treasury’s broader push to build out a more formal federal framework for digital assets and stablecoins. Treasury said the new cyber initiative reflects the principles of the GENIUS Act, coming just one day after FinCEN and OFAC proposed a rule to implement that law’s anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance requirements for payment stablecoin issuers.
Treasury cybersecurity officials said the program is a direct response to what they described as a rapidly intensifying threat environment, with attacks on digital asset platforms growing in both frequency and sophistication. Eligible firms and trade groups that meet Treasury’s criteria can apply through OCCIP for access to the information-sharing channel, which Treasury said is designed to improve defenses, reduce operational risk and strengthen incident response across the sector.