Regulation
The US Treasury says it wants to improve regulation of money laundering related to cryptocurrencies and other illicit financing
The US Treasury Department wants to continue strengthening anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts related to digital assets, as part of its broader strategy to crack down on illicit financing.
The department released its 2024 strategy “National Strategy for Countering Terrorism and Other Illicit Financing” on Thursday, outlining its priorities for tackling illicit financing. The Treasury highlighted ongoing work on cryptocurrencies, including sanctions against some exchanges and similar groups Bitzlato AND Lazarushis agreement with Binance and his warnings about it pig slaughter rip-offs. The annual document outlines how Treasury is examining illicit finance and what role crypto regulations could play in cracking down on this problem.
Overall, Thursday’s strategy document says its four priorities are closing gaps in anti-money laundering regulations, supporting a “more effective and risk-focused” framework, increasing law enforcement effectiveness and harnessing technological innovations.
Updating existing supervisory frameworks for cryptocurrencies would support these priorities, the strategy document states.
This includes potential updates to the US regulatory framework (for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism), as well as work on the “global implementation of [Financial Action Task Force] standards,” the document reads.
“Successfully applying the current AML/CFT oversight and enforcement framework to virtual asset activities requires the United States to allocate sufficient oversight and enforcement resources and continue to invest in technology and training for analysts, investigators and regulators to develop further expertise related to new technologies, including the analysis of public blockchain data,” the document reads.
At a news conference, a Treasury official said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson discussed the department’s request to greater authority and control of some cryptocurrency-related issues with legislators.
“I can say that we will continue to work with Congress to provide technical assistance [with those] proposals, and it remains a priority for the leadership of this building to obtain those authorities,” they said.
In Thursday’s filing, Treasury said it will continue to monitor the evolution of digital asset payments, including decentralized finance, provide technical assistance to Congress, continue to review the use of sanctions and seek more funding for Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets. Check.