US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Counter Crypto Use in Terror Funding

• Legislators in the United States introduced a bill to stop cryptocurrency use in terrorism funding. 
• The lawmakers said the bill introduces sanctions to counter the emerging use of digital assets by foreign actors for terror funding.  
• The legislation also introduces actions against foreign firms that conduct business with terror groups.

Lawmakers in the United States on Thursday introduced bipartisan legislation to combat the use of cryptocurrency for terrorism funding as part of a broader proposal to tighten regulatory actions against terror groups. 

Indeed, the legislation titled the Terrorism Financing Prevention Act, driven by the Hamas October 7 attacks on Israel, was sponsored by U.S. Senators Mitt Romney, Mark Warner, Mike Rounds, and Jack Reed. According to Romney, the bill would “counter the role that cryptocurrency plays in the financing of terrorism … and address emerging threats involving digital assets.”

Furthermore, the bill would also introduce new sanctions on foreign parties that facilitate financial transactions with the terror groups. In addition, the legislation will expand the terror groups sanctioned in the U.S. to include Hamas. 

Senator Rounds remarked on the development, “The Terrorism Financing Prevention Act takes commonsense steps toward rooting out terrorism by sanctioning foreign financial institutions and foreign digital asset companies that assist them in committing these heinous acts.”

Additionally, Senator Reeds said the bill would empower the Treasury Department with tools to protect national and economic security. He continued by saying the bill would force foreign financial institutions and foreign crypto firms to choose between doing business with terrorist organizations or maintaining access to the U.S. financial system. Earlier in October, Israeli authorities ordered cryptocurrency trading platform Binance to shut down hundreds of accounts linked to Hamas. As noted in the report, the Israeli authorities stated that they have seized nearly millions of dollars’ worth of crypto assets.