Five More Senators Join Ranks With Elizabeth Warren’s Crypto Anti-Money Laundering Bill

Jimmy Aki
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Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s anti-money laundering bill is gaining significant support. According to a recent announcement, five more senators have joined ranks with Warren as she continues the fight against the use of crypto assets for illicit activities.

Banking Committee Members Lend Support

Senator Elizabeth Warren has been one of the most outspoken critics of the digital asset ecosystem. Her reasons have largely been focused on the clear lack of government oversight, leaving loopholes for persons of questionable characters to explore.

Reinitiating her attempts, Warren announced that five more Congress members are lending their support towards pushing her anti-money laundering bill through the door. These include Senators Raphael Warnock, Laphonza Butler, Chris Van Hollen, John Hickenlooper, and Ben Ray Luján.

Warren also pointed out that three of the latest additions are members of the Banking Committee in the US Congress who have joined the fight to take action against bad actors in the emerging industry.

“Our bipartisan bill is the toughest proposal on the table cracking down on crypto’s illicit use and giving regulators more tools in their toolbox,” Warren added.

The bill termed the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, was reintroduced in July following the addition of 100+ co-sponsors.

Other government institutions like the Bank Policy Institute, Massachusetts Bankers Association, Transparency International US, Global Financial Integrity, National District Attorneys Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Consumer Law Center, and the National Consumers League, have all pitched their tents with the anti-crypto legislator.

Warren has maintained her resolve to bring the decentralized ecosystem into the purview of the US government. Besides Senate members, tech experts emphasize the increasing relevance of the bill.

In a November Senate hearing, a staggering 350% surge in crypto investment scams was reported in the US in 2022. As per Warren, who spearheaded the proceedings, a substantial portion of these fraudulent activities specifically targeted US seniors, resulting in a total loss of $1 billion during the mentioned period.

Cyber security expert Steve Wiesman has backed Warren’s bill, emphasizing the difficulty in tracing stolen crypto assets once they enter mixing platforms. In addition, Weisman noted that the bill is long overdue even though there might be issues around privacy.

The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act seeks to subject crypto-facing firms to the same financial controls as traditional financial institutions. If passed, these firms would be obligated to identify and record personal information for all users engaging in digital asset transactions, along with filing reports about users without requiring a warrant.

The bill also proposes the development of risk-calibrated anti-money laundering (AML) programs to prevent the use of software or network throughput for criminal activities.

Attack on Technological Progress

Industry experts have openly criticized the intent behind the act, labeling it a direct attack on technological progress as envisioned by permissionless blockchain technology.

Sharing his perspective on the bill, Neeraj K. Agrawal, Coincenter’s Head of Communication, asserted that the act represents a rejection of liberal values, signaling a shift toward a surveillance-oriented society akin to authoritarian regimes.

Given this, he revealed that Coincenter would oppose the bill in its entirety. Agrawal also stated that the crypto firm would fight to protect Americans’ rights, privacy, and autonomy.

Agrawal is not the only person who has called out the harsh regulatory oversight by the US government.

Kraken’s co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell labeled the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) latest action against the crypto exchange a poor look on the North American nation.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Powell said the SEC is the “US’ top decel” – a term implying an entity hindering progress.

The SEC had charged Kraken for commingling user assets with those of the exchange, labeling it as a risky business practice.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.