A bipartisan group of more than 100 House lawmakers and senators this week asked the White House and Treasury Department to address what officials were doing to prevent terrorist organizations from using cryptocurrency to finance their operations. The letter came after the Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas likely used cryptocurrency to evade sanctions and help fund its Oct.7 attack on Israel.
The letter posed several questions to the administration, including whether additional legislation is needed to address national security threats posed by use of cryptocurrency by terrorist organizations.
“Congress and this administration must take strong action to thoroughly address crypto illicit finance risks before it can be used to finance another tragedy,” the lawmakers said. “As Congress considers legislative proposals designed to mitigate crypto money laundering and illicit finance risks, we urge you to swiftly and categorically act to meaningfully curtail illicit crypto activity and protect our national security and that of our allies.”
