The US Treasury does not believe that cryptocurrencies could be used in large-scale ways to circumvent sanctions. “The share as a medium for illegal financing is not as great as using cash,” said a senior Treasury official.
Treasury’s view on the use of crypto to avoid sanctions
In an interview with Reuters, Deputy Minister of State for Financial Services Nelly Liang talked about the possibility of using cryptocurrencies as a tool to circumvent Russia’s sanctions on Friday.
A senior Treasury official explained that the crypto market is currently not large enough to run the economy, and that the crypto ecosystem is underdeveloped and cannot effectively facilitate large-scale sanctions evasion.
“The transaction size we saw is pretty small. Of course, we realize that we may not be able to see everything, but there is a fair amount of oversight,” Liang said. I did. She elaborated:
At this time, we do not believe it can be used in large scale to avoid sanctions.
Officials have revealed that the Treasury has been studying the issue for years. In addition, the developed and other countries of the Group of Seven (G7) have expressed concern about the use of cryptocurrencies for illegal financing.
She added:
Although growing due to the increasing use of cryptocurrencies, its share as a medium for illegal financing is not as great as using cash.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is deeply concerned, despite many sources confirming that cryptocurrencies are not currently an effective tool for avoiding large-scale sanctions.
She submitted the bill on Thursday. “To prevent Vladimir Putin and the Russian elite from using digital assets to undermine the economic sanctions of the international community on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.” But experts said her bill was “unnecessary, widespread and unconstitutional,” as Bitcoin.com News previously reported.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden signed a presidential directive on cryptography last week. This order directs the Secretary of the Treasury to work with all relevant institutions to report on the future of the money and payment system. Liang will lead the Treasury’s efforts to implement presidential directives.
What do you think of the Treasury staff’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.
Kevin Helms
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