U.S. Senator Labels Crypto as a Menace, Hyperlinks to North Korea’s Nuclear Funding

• U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren labels cryptocurrency as a “new menace,” citing considerations about its use in terrorist financing and drug trafficking.
• Warren alleges that North Korea is utilizing crypto to fund half of its nuclear weapons program.
• JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon suggests closing down crypto if he have been the federal government.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren reiterated her considerations about cryptocurrency, labeling it as “a brand new menace.” She alleged that crypto is being utilized for terrorist financing and drug trafficking.

In a latest interview on NBC’s Squawk Field, Senator Warren, in her try to control crypto, sounded the alarm on crypto, stating:

There’s a new menace on the market. It’s crypto. It’s getting used for terrorist financing. It’s getting used for drug trafficking.

Warren went additional, alleging that North Korea is utilizing cryptocurrency to “pay for about half of its nuclear weapons program.”

Warren’s worries discover help in studies from blockchain intelligence corporations. Earlier this 12 months, TRM Labs revealed that North Korea-linked hackers stole $200 million value of cryptocurrency, whereas Chainalysis reported consultants agreed that these stolen belongings fund the nation’s nuclear weapons packages.

Throughout a latest Senate Banking Committee listening to, Warren, alongside JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, referred to as for stronger authorities rules on cryptocurrencies. Warren questioned Dimon about his views on crypto, to which Dimon responded by stating, “If I used to be the federal government, I’d shut it down.”

Warren additionally sought the opinions of different financial institution executives, together with Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf, Financial institution of America CEO Brian Moynihan, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, who all agreed that crypto ought to adhere to the identical anti-money laundering guidelines as conventional banks.

Warren’s considerations are a part of a broader effort in Washington to control the crypto trade, together with her proposed invoice, the Digital Asset Anti-Cash Laundering Act. This invoice goals to increase Financial institution Secrecy Act necessities, together with know-your-customer guidelines, to varied contributors within the crypto area.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is understood to have a powerful anti-crypto stance, actively working to control and fight crypto-related actions. In October, Warren, together with 28 senators and 76 Home lawmakers, in a bipartisan letter, urged the White Home and Treasury to take motion towards crypto crimes, citing studies of Hamas elevating funds by way of digital foreign money.