US banking advocacy group supports Sen. Warren’s reintroduced crypto bill

According to the Bank Policy Institute, the inclusion of digital assets in the anti-money laundering framework is essential to safeguard the United States’ financial system and protect the nation from illicit finance.

United States banking advocacy group, the Bank Policy Institute, has backed the legislation of Senator Elizabeth Warren, a vocal crypto critic, which calls for more transparency in digital assets to combat financial crime.

According to a July 28 Bloomberg report, Warren reintroduced the proposed bill titled ‘Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023,’ on July 28 along with West Virginian Democrat Joe Manchin, Kansas’ Republican Roger Marshall, and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham.

The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) has shown its support for the bill, which demands more transparency in digital asset transactions in an effort to combat money-laundering and terrorism financing.

BPI highlighted the existing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework does not account for digital assets, noting:

“The existing anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act framework must account for digital assets, and we look forward to engaging in this process to defend our nation’s financial system against illicit finance in all its forms.”

The seven-page bill, if passed, will require digital-asset wallet providers, miners and others that validate and secure transactions on a blockchain to keep records of their customers identities. 

The legislation would also prohibit financial institutions from using digital asset mixers, such as Tornado Cash, which are designed to hide blockchain data. 

Related: Elizabeth Warren wants the police at your door in 2024

The Massachusetts Bankers Association, AARP, the National Consumer Law Center and the National Consumers League are among other supporters of the bill.

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, took aim at the news in a July 28 tweet, suggesting that those opposed to Warren’s proposed bill are “doing the right thing.”

When you’ve made enemies with the bankers and Elizabeth Warren, you know you’re doing the right thing. https://t.co/w2WflrkJOu

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) July 28, 2023

Warren initially introduced the bill to the U.S. Senate in December 2022, arguing that current AML laws do not cover the majority of the crypto industry.

Warren initially introduced the bill at the Senate Banking Committee hearing “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers”, in December 2022, where she declared that crypto should be held to the same regulations as banking institutions:

“Senator Marshall and I introduced a bipartisan bill today that requires crypto to follow the same money-laundering rules as every bank, every broker and Western Union all have to follow today.”

In more recent times, Warren outlined her intention to reintroduce the bill at a Senate Banking Commitee hearing titled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets” on Feb. 14. 

She stated that the crypto communty wants decentralized entities running on code to be exempt from AML requirements. 

“In other words, they want a giant loophole for DeFi written into the law so they can launder money whenever a drug lord or a terrorist pays them to do so” Warren stated during the hearing.

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