U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill in the Senate against terrorist financing through cryptocurrencies and financial technology.
The bill included Iowa Republican Zach Nunn, Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and North Carolina Representative Ted Budd.
The financial technology protection bill would create an independent fintech working group to combat terrorism and illicit financing.
The task force will investigate suspicious transactions, including cryptocurrency transactions, and make proposals to improve the measures taken.
The group will include one representative each from various U.S. agencies:
the U.S. Treasury, Justice and Homeland Security, Secret Service, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In addition, the group will include participants appointed by the Undersecretary of the Treasury for Counterterrorism, as well as employees of research institutes and companies involved in blockchain research.
The group will submit annual reports to Congress on its research and make appropriate recommendations. After the law enters into force, the so-called coalition will be in effect for four years.
The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously in 2018 and 2019, and only now has it managed to pass the Senate.
“This bipartisan bill would allow the United States to address security threats, prevent money laundering through cryptocurrencies, and protect the freedom of all Americans.
The bill would ensure that financial systems are equipped to fight sanctions evasion, terrorism financing and money laundering, which often involve the latest technology,” Gillibrandt said.
Earlier, Kirsten Gillibrandt, along with Senator Cynthia Lummis, introduced a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies that would incorporate digital assets into the U.S. financial system.