Nine Senate Dems Drum Support for Warren’s Crypto Bill

Senator Elizabeth Warren has garnered further support in the Senate for her soon-to-be-released Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Bill.

This is contained in a press release from Warren’s office. According to the document, nine democratic senators have pitched their tents with Warren. 

The Senators are Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, Jeanne Shaheen, Tina Smith, Bob Casey, Richard Blumenthal, alongside Senator Angus King representing Maine. 

This new group joins well-known supporters like Roger Marshall, Joe Manchin, and Lindsey Graham in calling for greater regulatory clarity in the nascent crypto industry.

The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering bill, first promoted as Digital Assets Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act in March 2022, is laser-focused on curbing illicit financial trends rearing their heads in the crypto space. 

The bill will provide the necessary coverage to close any loopholes that enable criminals to move funds illicitly without US government clearance. 

The bipartisan coalition bill will better propel the crypto market to comply with globally accepted anti-money laundering (AML) rules. It also seeks to impose stricter restrictions on terrorism financing, aligning with the AMF/CFT frameworks. 

In addition, the bill is expected to direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to tackle crypto transactions that are executed using privacy platforms and anonymity-enabling technologies. 

Providing context on the need for such strong measures, Warren stated that blockchain assets were enabling tools for drug lords, rogue nations, ransomware gangs, and internet fraudsters. 

Meanwhile, Senator Joe Manchin was more equivocal on what the coalition bill aims to foster. 

He believes the bill will make it easier to curb terrorist enablers and rogue state actors like Russia and North Korea. 

Manchin also pointed out that getting the bill to the floor of the Senate was a matter of national security and can no longer be delayed.

Warren’s Bill Still Needed

The bill is the latest strategy to bring the crypto market under the purview of the US government for more sustained market growth. 

Despite stronger security measures instituted on cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralized trading platforms, the crypto market is still an attractive honeypot for cybercriminals. 

A CipherTrace’s Cryptocurrency Crime and Anti-Money Laundering report found that crypto hacks in 2023 led to $383 million in losses. 

The results of this study demonstrate that more needs to be done to ensure the safety of funds and data. Senator Warren’s coalition bill aims to address this issue and much more.