Two lawmakers are pressuring the Biden administration to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, with digital assets such as the stablecoin Tether subject to sanctions in Russia and other countries. We are asking stakeholders what additional powers might be needed to prevent them from being used by organizations. .
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Roger Marshall sent a letter Sunday to officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, detailing how cryptocurrencies can be used to avoid sanctions. This indicates that there is increasing scrutiny on whether it could be used for other purposes.
Mr. Warren and Mr. Marshall expressed particular concern about the use of Tether, whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar and is designed to maintain a stable value.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Russian intermediaries were using Tether to procure weapons components for drones and other military equipment to circumvent Western sanctions.
Reuters reported this month that Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA plans to use Tether to export crude oil and fuel as the US plans to reimpose oil sanctions on the country.
“The national security threat posed by virtual currencies requires a proportionate response from our nation's defense community,” Warren and Marshall said. They noted that although Tether's preferred cryptocurrency trading platform, Galantex, has been sanctioned, “it is not clear whether these measures have stopped the flow of funds through the platform.”
Tether did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but has previously said it respects the U.S. Treasury Department's list of sanctioned entities and is committed to ensuring that sanctioned crypto wallet addresses are frozen.
(issued April 29, 2024, 16:16 IST)
