1 year ago
Several U.S. lawmakers person approached the Biden administration, requesting an probe into the alleged usage of cryptocurrency by violent groups. This petition came successful the signifier of a letter dated Nov. 15.
The missive refers to earlier reports alleging that crypto wallets linked to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad person received upwards of $41 cardinal and $93 million, respectively. However, it besides acknowledges the beingness of “conflicting reports” from blockchain analytics firms that situation these numbers.
The estimates originated connected Oct. 10 successful a Wall Street Journal nonfiction that cited statistic from 2 blockchain analytics firms. One superior source, Elliptic, later said that the $93 cardinal estimation really applied to a crypto speech serving galore customers alternatively than a azygous violent group. The $41 cardinal magnitude originated with a abstracted analytics steadfast called BitOK; the institution has seemingly not reassessed that estimate.
Now, successful their existent letter, lawmakers are asking the U.S. authorities to disclose the fig of integer wallets linked to Hamas and different violent organizations that it has identified arsenic good arsenic the cryptocurrency equilibrium of those wallets. Furthermore, the missive asks whether the U.S. authorities has blocked oregon seized immoderate of those cryptocurrency assets oregon immoderate non-crypto assets and asks for different related details.
Furthermore, the missive points retired that the U.S. authorities has seized important amounts of illicit funds, suggesting a request for transparency astir these procedures. It asks erstwhile those funds mightiness beryllium forfeited, to whom they mightiness beryllium distributed, and whether immoderate funds seized from violent organizations could beryllium distributed to Israel successful bid to offset the outgo of different authorities spending packages.
Letter signed by implicit 50 lawmakers
The lawmakers addressed their missive to U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, asking the medication to find and disclose the supra facts.
The missive is signed by much than 50 lawmakers. Signatures from Republican lawmakers see those from Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Chairman of the House Committee connected Financial Services Patrick McHenry, and Congressman French Hill.
One Democratic lawmaker who has signed the missive is Congressman Ritchie Torres, well-known for his past enactment for pro-cryptocurrency legislation.
Notably, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who had antecedently led an effort to mention these contested statistic successful an earlier letter, was absent from the database of signatories. Her earlier missive asked the authorities to enforce measures to forestall the usage of crypto successful violent funding.
The station Lawmakers property Biden, Yellen for elaborate study connected crypto enactment linked to Hamas appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
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