Rep. Brad Sherman files bill in Congress on Russian sanctions and crypto

A member of Congress has filed new legislation on crypto and Russian financial sanctions.

Public records show that Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) submitted the measure on March 13. The bill’s summary states: “To impose sanctions with respect to the use of cryptocurrency to facilitate transactions by Russian persons subject to sanctions, and for other purposes.”

Little else is known about the measure, which has no known co-sponsors. Sherman’s office did not respond to a request for comment sent Monday morning.

Per a public note regarding the states of the bill, Sherman’s legislation was “[r]eferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.”

The legislation’s filing comes as Capitol Hill increasingly focuses on the subject of cryptocurrency in the context of Russian sanctions amid the invasion of Ukraine. Senator Elizabeth Warren is also said to be working on legislation related to this area, though it’s not currently known when that bill would be filed. 

Despite the high-alert posture among government officials, little tangible evidence has emerged that Russia is using crypto to dodge the array of sanctions imposed since last month. Last week, the Financial Crime Enforcement Network issued an alert on the matter, with Acting Director Him Das  saying that “we have not seen widespread evasion of our sanctions using methods such as cryptocurrency.”

Sherman is a long-time critic of cryptocurrency, having once called for legislation to ban the purchase of cryptocurrencies in the United States.