Crypto Faces PATRIOT Act Crackdown—Treasury Targets Mixers And DeFi
The US government is preparing to bring sweeping anti-money laundering powers from the PATRIOT Act into the crypto sector, in a move that could reshape the boundaries of privacy, compliance, and innovation. According to reporting by The Rage, the Treasury Department is seeking to apply Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act—often described as one […]
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Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department Elizabeth Rosenberg said sanctioning crypto mixers could help deter money laundering from entities in Russia, Iran and North Korea. Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the United States Department of the Treasury, suggested sanctioning cryptocurrency mixers could help strengthen the government’s response to foreign entities looking to use digital assets for illicit means. In a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, which covered sanctions on Russia, Rosenberg said having the....
The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has escalated its crackdown on crypto mixers, labeling them as critical hubs for illicit financial activities. In a move to intensify oversight of digital currency transactions, the agency unveiled a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) over the weekend, singling out crypto transaction mixing as a […]
The public has until Nov. 3 to submit comments on the Treasury addressing ransomware attacks, the illicit finance risks of cryptocurrency mixers and DeFi, and coordinating AML/CFT policy. The United States Department of the Treasury will be calling for comments from the public on digital assets, including their views on how regulations may address the illicit uses of crypto.In a document set to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury requested public comment on “digital-asset-related illicit finance and national security risks as well as the publicly released....
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis highlighted that 10% of all funds coming from illicit addresses are sent to crypto mixers. As on-chain activities slow down during the crypto winter, usage of cryptocurrency mixers has doubled in 2022, with addresses classified as “illicit” being the top contributor. Cryptocurrency mixers, also called “tumblers,” provide anonymity to transactions, making the sender or receiver of the transaction completely unidentified. While this has a valid use case for everyday users, hackers have used it to hide from authorities. In a report by analytics firm....
The controversial section 215 of the Patriot Act which has allowed mass collection of American's phone call metadata is set for reform or expiry by the first of June, does it really matter? The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Thursday that the bulk collection of Americans’ phone metadata by the NSA was NOT in fact authorized by section 215 of the Patriot Act, despite surveillance supporters' claims to the contrary. The ruling continues, “We do so comfortably in the full understanding that if Congress chooses to authorize such a far-reaching and unprecedented....