The US Treasury Department insists on expanding its existing authority to enhance control over cryptocurrency service providers, including foreign ones. This was stated by Deputy Secretary of State Adeyemo O. Adeyemo ahead of hearings in the Senate said.

According to him, malicious actors are constantly “looking for new ways to conceal identity and move assets.”

He cited the use of cryptocurrencies to finance a number of terrorist groups, as well as countries under US sanctions, including Russia and North Korea.

Adeyemo expressed hope that lawmakers will approve a tool of secondary sanctions targeting foreign providers of digital assets involved in illegal operations.

The US Treasury Department is also requesting the ability to pursue foreign-based crypto platforms when they harm US national security by utilizing the country’s financial system.

Recall, in October 2023, WSJ reported that Palestinian militants received at least $134 million in digital assets. The publication provoked a sharp reaction from American lawmakers, who demanded that the Department of Justice take action in the industry. They specifically pointed to Binance and Tether.

Chainalysis analysts stated that when calculating cryptocurrency associated with terrorists, many mistakenly include third-party funds that have passed through various payment services interacting with criminals in this category.

Elliptic experts also pointed to an overestimation of the scale of financing terrorist groups in cryptocurrencies.

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