- The US Senate passed a military spending bill with a crypto AML provision.
- The provision aims to curb illicit finance in crypto.
- The whole bill will undergo reconciliation by both The House and Senate chambers.
On Thursday, 27th July 2023, 86 members of the US Senate voted to approve the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), two weeks after a different version of the bill was passed by the House of Representatives.
The bill’s latest version included a bipartisan amendment that seeks to address crypto as a high-risk vertical for illicit activities and financing terrorism, with a keen focus on financial institutions involved in digital assets trading.
A Step to Combat Illicit Finance in Crypto
The amendment borrowed extensively from the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, including clauses that seek to establish federal standards for examining crypto assets. The bill will require the US Secretary of Treasury to provide guidance on how regulators should identify risks in the crypto industry and ensure players comply with the country’s sanctions and money laundering laws.
Sponsored
The amendment also circled back to the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act. The related provision would see the Treasury Department required to research how to address the problem of anonymous crypto asset transactions to curtail the obfuscation of funds.
The bill particularly targets crypto mixers and “anonymity-enhancing” cryptocurrency assets, perceived as a bedrock for illicit industry activities.
The House had earlier passed its own version of the NDAA bill on 14th July 2023, at which time all but four Democrats voted against it.
Sponsored
You might also like:
Why U.S. Crypto Bill Approavl is Being Heralded as a Victory
Learn more about the race to regulate crypto in Congress:
