- Illicit activities in crypto are on the radar of the U.S. FSC.
- The committee will discuss wide-ranging crypto crimes in an upcoming hearing.
- The hearing comes amid calls for Congress to enact crypto legislation.
At an upcoming hearing, the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee (FSC) is scheduled to discuss the sprout of illegal activities in the cryptocurrency industry.
Dubbed “Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down Illicit Activity in Digital Assets,” the hearing is slated for November 15 and will attract diverse attendees, including federal regulators, finance specialists, and notable crypto entrepreneurs in the country.
Bringing Crypto Crime to Congress’s Attention
In a November 9 memorandum issued to the committee, the Financial Services Republican Staff noted that Congress needed to comprehend the degree to which illicit activity exists in crypto to ensure that bad actors don’t take advantage of the nascent digital assets sector.
Per the memo, while the inherently public nature of most blockchains enhances ease of access and user engagement, it doubles up as a pathway for bad actors.
“While it is inevitable that criminals will look to new and evolving mechanisms, like digital assets, to fund their illicit activity, the amount of illicit activity relative to the amount of licit activity is minimal”. The memo cautioned.
Following this and other revelations by the Treasury and law enforcement, the committee has resolved to scrutinize several areas of focus regarding crypto-related illicit activities.
Scrutiny on Crypto Money Laundering and Terror Financing
Among the topics that will take center stage in the November 15 hearing include the increasing use of crypto in money laundering and terror financing.
Notably, the memo stated that U.S. law enforcement reported surging money laundering activity in decentralized finance platforms, terming it “a subset of overall activity within the DeFi space” in reference to Treasury’s Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Decentralized Finance.
Further, the memo noted that although the scale of crypto-funded terrorism pales in comparison to the use of traditional financial assets by terrorists, the matter still requires considerable focus and will be debated at the hearing.
Read why the SEC might face a funding block:
SEC Faces Funding Block as Rep Counters Crypto Crackdown
Stay updated on why U.S. lawmakers want the government to combat crypto-funded terrorism:
U.S. Lawmakers Press Biden to Combat Crypto-Funded Terrorism
