US lawmakers have pressed President Joe Biden and his administration on plans to prevent the use of cryptocurrency in terrorism financing.
According to a Bloomberg report, a group of eighty-six members of the US Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties sent a letter to the government on October 17 asking for details preventing militant organizations from using crypto in “financing or terrorism.”
Under the leadership of senators Elizabeth Warren, Roger Marshall, and Sean Casten, the lawmakers have cited the US Treasury Department and the National Security Council and noted that militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) raised millions of dollars in crypto prior to their attack in Israel.
The letter stated that both of these groups raised over $100 million using cryptocurrency between August 2021 and June 2023.
Lawmakers also mentioned the recent attack carried out by Hamas on Israel, which was funded through the crypto financing it received. Hamas has become ‘one of the most sophisticated crypto users in the terror-finance domain’, according to lawmakers.
“As Congress considers legislative proposals designed to mitigate crypto money laundering and illicit finance risks,” said lawmakers, adding, “we urge you to swiftly and categorically act to meaningfully curtail illicit crypto activity and protect our national security and that of our allies.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren signed a letter demanding Binance and Binance.US provide detailed reports of their finance and regulatory compliance.
The senator claimed that the exchange is a hotbed for illegal activities and has processed over $10 billion for criminal activities.
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