Lawmakers ask DOJ to target crypto’s role in terrorist financing

Two key members of Congress urged the Justice Department to evaluate the extent to which the Binance and Tether crypto firms are supporting terrorism by violating sanctions and the Bank Secrecy Act.

Joint Letter: The letter from House Subcommittee on Digital Assets Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) and Senate Banking Committee member Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) cites reports that crypto intermediaries outside the United States have facilitated significant illicit finance activity, including supporting Hamas’ attack on Israel. They called on the DOJ to reach a charging decision on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and conclude its investigations of the Tether stablecoin.

Recent Activity: Policymakers have ramped up efforts to address crypto’s role in terrorist financing, including:

• A Financial Crimes Enforcement Network alert citing Hamas’ virtual currency fundraising campaigns.

• A FinCEN proposed rule that identifies international convertible virtual currency mixing as a primary money-laundering concern.

• Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions on a virtual currency exchange for financing terrorist operations.

• A separate bipartisan congressional letter calling on the administration to provide details on plans to prevent the use of crypto for financing terrorism.

ICBA Crypto Advocacy: ICBA has repeatedly called on policymakers to ensure new policies directed at the crypto sector fully reflect its risks, including to national security. A new ICBA blog post discusses policymakers’ increasing efforts to implement digital asset policy in light of the significant upheaval in crypto markets.