- The U.S. Senate passed an $886 billion military spending bill.
- The document includes a provision to tighten controls on the cryptocurrency market.
- The government will crack down on cryptomixers and cryptocurrency money laundering.
The United States Senate has approved the country’s $886 billion 2024 defense spending bill (NDAA). According to Coindesk, among other things, the document includes a provision tightening oversight of financial organizations involved in cryptocurrency trading, among other things. The focus would be on cryptomixers and cryptoassets that “enhance user anonymity,” the report said.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand, Cynthia Lummis, Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall, proposed the amendment to the country’s national defense law. The press release noted that “this move is one of the most significant decisions Congress has made regarding cryptocurrencies.”
The amendment builds on provisions in the Lummis-Gillibrand Financial Innovation Act and Senators Warren and Marshall’s Anti-Money Laundering Act. It demands that the United States Secretary of the Treasury “set new standards for the verification of cryptoassets”. In the future, it will help experts assess financial risks, enforce money laundering and sanctions laws, Coindesk notes.
In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department is to conduct its own investigation into “anonymous transactions and cryptomixers” that are often used to hide funds.
Amending the bill with non-defense-related amendments is a common practice in the U.S. Senate. Earlier, the House of Representatives passed its version of the NDAA, which is considered mandatory legislation. The two chambers must now come to a consensus and agree on a version that satisfies the interests of each side.
In March 2023, the U.S. and German governments seized $46 million from cryptomixer ChipMixer. In June, as part of an international anti-money laundering investigation, U.S. authorities seized $58 million from Deltec, a Bahamian bank that serves cryptocurrency companies.