In response to the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced legislation aimed at combating the role of cryptocurrencies in financing terrorism. The Terrorist Financing Prevention Bill would expand U.S. sanctions to include parties that use cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies to fund terrorist groups.
The bill was introduced by Senators Mitt Romney, Mark Warner, Mike Rounds, and Jack Reed. Senator Romney said the legislation would allow the U.S. Treasury Department to pursue "new threats involving digital assets" following the Oct. 7 attacks and operations by terrorist group Hezbollah.
The bill includes provisions that would allow the U.S. Treasury Department to ban transactions with "foreign digital asset transaction facilitators" that are listed as sanctioned entities. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has already sanctioned a Gaza-based cryptocurrency operator.
The senators' introduction of the bill comes as many U.S. lawmakers have been outspoken about the role cryptocurrencies play in funding terrorist groups. In October, about a week after the Hamas attack, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and more than 100 lawmakers signed a letter calling for action to "meaningfully curb the use of funds to fund such groups through illegal cryptographic activities."
