U.S. Treasury to expand sanctions powers for digital assets
The Biden administration is urging Congress to consider the most significant updates to the Treasury’s sanctions authority since 2001. This move aims to better regulate the use of digital assets for financial transactions in regions impacted by terrorism. According to Bloomberg, U.S. foreign trade representative Wally Adeyemo said it was necessary to introduce a “secondary sanctions regime.” Such sanctions control a company or person within the U.S. financial system because it “also puts at risk any firm that continues to do business with a sanctioned target,” he said. The Treasury “provided Congress a set of common-sense recommendations to expand our authorities and broaden our tools and resources to go after illicit actors in the digital asset space,” Adeyemo added. Over the past few months, U.S. authorities have stepped up oversight of the cryptocurrency industry and are demanding stronger measures to combat the use of cryptocurrency by terrorists. You might also lik...