Senator Warren Takes Aim at 'Rogue Nations' Using Crypto for Terrorism and Sanction Evasion
Senator Elizabeth Warren has put forward a bipartisan bill that aims to crack down on money laundering loopholes in the crypto industry.
According to a Wednesday report by CNN, Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, is teaming up with Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas to introduce the new legislation. In short, the bill aims to force crypto companies to abide by the same rules that banks and traditional financial institutions have to follow.
"Rogue nations, oligarchs and drug lords are using crypto to launder billions, evade sanctions and finance terrorism," she said in a tweet. "My bipartisan bill puts common-sense rules in place to help close crypto money laundering loopholes and protect our national security."
Called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, the new bill would seek to bring the crypto ecosystem into compliance with the existing system of anti-money laundering in the worldwide financial system, potentially closing loopholes.
The legislation would direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the Treasury Department to designate digital asset wallet providers, miners, validators and others as money service businesses. That in turn would extend responsibilities in the Bank Secrecy Act to the crypto industry, including Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements, according to CNN.
The bill would also ban banks from transacting with anonymity-enhancing technologies such as digital asset mixers, require Americans who transfer over $10,000 to file a report with the Internal Revenue Service, and crack down on digital asset ATMs.
“Everyone on Capitol Hill can agree that Bankman-Fried is a crook,” Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research at BTIG, said, “but when we move from the high level
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