Casten pushes for 2-year ban on crypto mixers with new bill
A group of House Democrats led by Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would temporarily bar financial institutions such as cryptocurrency exchanges from dealing with funds that have been funneled through digital assets mixers.
During the two-year-long prohibition, Treasury, the SEC, CFTC and Justice Department would then be required to study the use of such crypto mixing services and what role they play in helping to facilitate illicit finance, according to the legislation.
They would need to report their findings to the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees.
The bill — dubbed the Blockchain Integrity Act — is the latest sign of the lingering concern in Congress about nefarious
actors using crypto to move and launder money. Crypto mixers obscure transactions on public blockchains to make it harder to track payments. The platforms have long been framed as privacy tools, but have also sparked broad concern from U.S. regulators over their use for illicit finance means.
"Digital asset mixers are key to allowing illicit actors to instantaneously move massive amounts of money around the globe for criminal purposes without detection," Casten said in a statement. "A temporary ban while we study this technology will help us better understand how it is used for illicit purposes, prevent future crypto-funded terrorism and inform future policymaking.”
Casten introduced the bill alongside Reps. Bill Foster of Illinois, Brad Sherman of California and Emanuel Cleaver of
Missouri, who all co-sponsored the legislation. All four are members of the Financial Services Committee.
By: Declan Harty
Source: Politico