Sen. Elizabeth Warren adds five co-sponsors to her bill that would target crypto

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has garnered more support from colleagues for a bill that would crack down on the alleged use of cryptocurrency in illicit finance.

Warren, who has often been critical of the crypto industry, said on Monday that five senators joined to co-sponsor the "Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act." The bill, criticized by the crypto industry, aims to extend Bank Secrecy Act requirements including know-your-customer rules to miners, validators, wallet providers and others.

Three of the five new adds, Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Laphonza Butler, D-Calif, and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., sit on the Senate Banking Committee with Warren. That committee could play a significant role in what crypto legislation passes over the next year. 

Sens. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo, and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. also joined the bill as co-sponsors on Monday. 

"The lack of basic legal safeguards around crypto opens up Americans to countless risks. What’s more, crypto has become the payment method of choice for terrorist organizations, drug cartels, and authoritarian regimes in order to fund their illicit activities," Van Hollen said in a statement. "Crypto should be governed by the same transparency rules as traditional banks to protect Americans and help ensure it isn’t used to facilitate illegal behavior by criminal enterprises and rogue nations."

Anti-money laundering and terrorist financing involving crypto has been at the forefront among lawmakers as well as the Biden Administration. Warren has pushed for her bill during congressional hearings, especially over the past few months. The Treasury Department last month asked Congress to give it more authority to go after illicit actors in the digital asset industry. 

Eyes on AML

House Financial Services Committee Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., told Punchbowl News in its Monday newsletter that it was time for the House to take a look at anti-money laundering rules for crypto, suggesting that there could be room for compromise between the House and Senate.

McHenry announced last week that he would not be seeking re-election for his term ending in January 2025. He has been seen as a leader in advancing crypto legislation, including one bill that would regulate stablecoins at the federal level and another that takes a comprehensive approach to crypto's market structure. Both bills would need to garner support from the Senate.