Revelations that the Palestinian group Hamas partially financed a recent attack with cryptocurrency may provide momentum to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s push for stricter anti-money laundering crypto laws.
Warren’s proposed bill aims to expand Bank Secrecy Act requirements to wallet providers, miners, and others in crypto. The senator argues the measure is crucial for equipping law enforcement against crypto-enabled crime.
The legislation has faced industry opposition and challenges passing in the divided Congress this year. But reports of binance-freezes-accounts-linked-to-hamas-per-israeli-request">Hamas using crypto could make it difficult for lawmakers to block Warren’s tougher regulatory stance.
In a social media post, Warren said the news should be a “wakeup call” that crypto wallets linked to Hamas received millions of dollars. She contends clamping down on illicit crypto flows is now imperative.
While progress has stalled, Warren’s proposal has bipartisan backing from Senators Manchin, Marshall, and Graham. The Hamas revelations may provide the extra catalyst needed to advance the stalled bill.
However, passage still faces hurdles like the November 17 government funding deadline. Some of Warren’s money laundering concerns have separately been addressed in a proposed defense bill amendment.
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