US Treasury Department allows the possibility of banning foreign issuers of stablecoins

What’s new? Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the US Treasury Department, has commented on the agency’s agreement with Binance, under which the exchange will pay $4,3 billion for violations of sanctions and AML regulations. He noted that the Treasury Department is developing new sanctions mechanisms to pursue violators in the crypto industry and hinted that the new subject of interest of officials may become issuers of stablecoins outside the United States. “We cannot rely on statutory definitions that are decades-old to address the illicit finance risks we face in 2023. We are working to close these gaps and others,” the official added.

Transcript of the speech

What else is known? Binance is in the process of settling claims from the Department of Justice’s sanctions enforcement (OFAC) and anti-money laundering (FinCEN) divisions. In addition to paying the fine, the exchange has pledged to allow officials on the supervisory board for five years. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO of the global platform and chairman of the board of the US arm, and he was also banned from leaving the States until the verdict is announced next February.

Changpeng Zhao steps down as chairman of the Binance.US board

Earlier, the court banned the businessman from leaving the United States before sentencing for sanctions violations and AML violations

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Adeyemo emphasized that over the years, Binance has facilitated more than 100 000 transactions by drug dealers, pedophiles, and terrorists. According to him, the exchange’s services were used by Hamas, ISIS, and Al Qaeda, among others. Due to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies among criminals, the Treasury Department called on Congress to authorize sanctions that would allow completely cut them off from the country’s financial system.

Earlier, Senator Cynthia Lummis called on the DOJ to prosecute Binance and Tether for facilitating fundraising for Hamas. Tether denied the charges, emphasizing that it assists authorities in various countries in freezing illegal assets. The head of the company, Paolo Ardoino, also emphasized that the share of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities is negligible compared to fiat.

According to Adeyemo’s new statement, Tether could also face sanctions because the company is registered outside the United States. At the same time, it issues the largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, which is second only to the two major cryptocurrencies in terms of capitalization: bitcoin and Ethereum. As of November 30, USDT stands at $89,4 billion.

US Treasury Department imposes sanctions on Sinbad mixer for ties to DPRK hackers

Funds from the largest hacks of crypto projects have passed through the service

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Amid panic over the use of cryptocurrencies by terrorists, EU lawmakers have proposed a complete ban on anonymous transactions, while the initiative is still under discussion.

Later, Reuters journalists claimed that the TRON blockchain was growing in popularity among terrorists because of its higher throughput compared to the bitcoin network. In response, TRON founder Justin Sun said that the project is “committed to combating terrorist financing” but its “top priority remains maintaining decentralization.”