Alternate cause – cryptocurrency

Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, pose a significant risk of illicit finance, because they can mask the identity of owners and cross borders almost instantly without regulated financial institutions serving as intermediaries. Crypto is increasingly used to launder money and evade sanctions. For example, fentanyl chemical producers in China have relied on crypto to sell their products to drug cartels. The risk posed by crypto was highlighted by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, when its founder pleaded guilty to money laundering violations.

Anti-money laundering requirements should be extended to digital assets service providers, as the European Union has done in its Market in Crypto Assets regulation and as a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has proposed in the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. Digital assets service providers should be required to identify the beneficial owners of the accounts they offer and transactions they process and to block suspicious financial flows.