Cybersecurity expert backs Sen. Warren’s crypto bill in senate hearing

November 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

In a recent senate hearing, a cybersecurity professional openly endorsed United States Senator Elizabeth Warren's Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren has emphasized the risks of cryptocurrency scams targeting senior citizens in the U.S., with the support of a cybersecurity expert endorsing her legislation on digital assets to prevent future scams.

In a recent senate hearing, Warren outlined the significant increase in crypto scams being targeted towards elderly citizens of the U.S:

"Last year, we saw a 350% increase in crypto investment scams targeting seniors. That is the biggest spike among all age groups. That added up to more than $1 billion that seniors lost in crypto scams."

Meanwhile, during the hearing, Steve Weisman, a recognized expert on scams and cybersecurity as described by Warren, highlighted that unlike credit card fraud which can be swiftly identified, stopped, and traced, crypto poses greater challenges with being transparent.

He reiterated that with crypto, once it passes through mixers, tracing becomes significantly more challenging.

"Once it goes into the mixers then you have problems. There is a legitimate privacy concern that people may have, but it does not come anywhere near to the scammers."

Weisman expressed support for Warren's Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, which seeks to ensure that digital assets are subject to the same Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws as traditional fiat currency.

"Your legislation is long overdue. It is a no-brainer," Weisman declared.

This follows recent reports indicating a significant increase in crypto hacks and scams during the latest quarter compared to the same quarter last year.

Blockchain security firm Immunefi reported a 153% surge in attack incidents targeting crypto and Web3 projects from July to September 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022. The recent quarter saw losses of approximately $686 million.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren recently revealed that nine more United States Senators have publicly supported the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Notably, Gary Peters, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Dick Durbin, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are among those supporting the initiative.

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US banking advocacy group supports Sen. Warren’s reintroduced crypto bill

July 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AARP

According to the Bank Policy Institute, the inclusion of digital assets in the anti-money laundering framework is essential to safeguard the United States' financial system and protect the nation from illicit finance.

United States banking advocacy group, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), has backed the legislation of Senator Elizabeth Warren, a vocal crypto critic, which calls for more transparency in digital assets to combat financial crime.

According to a July 28 Bloomberg report, Warren reintroduced the proposed bill titled 'Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023,' on July 28 along with West Virginian Democrat Joe Manchin, Kansas' Republican Roger Marshall, and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham.

The BPI has shown its support for the bill, which demands more transparency in digital asset transactions in an effort to combat money-laundering and terrorism financing.

The BPI highlighted the existing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework in the U.S. does not account for digital assets, noting:

“The existing anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act framework must account for digital assets, and we look forward to engaging in this process to defend our nation’s financial system against illicit finance in all its forms.”

The seven-page bill, if passed, will require digital-asset wallet providers, miners and others that validate and secure transactions on a blockchain to keep records of their customers identities.

The legislation would also prohibit financial institutions from using digital asset mixers, such as Tornado Cash, which are designed to hide blockchain data.

The Massachusetts Bankers Association, AARP, the National Consumer Law Center and the National Consumers League are among other supporters of the bill.

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, took aim at the news in a July 28 tweet, suggesting that those opposed to Warren's proposed bill are “doing the right thing.”

When you’ve made enemies with the bankers and Elizabeth Warren, you know you’re doing the right thing. https://t.co/w2WflrkJOu
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) July 28, 2023

Warren initially introduced the bill to the U.S. Senate in December 2022, arguing that current AML laws do not cover the majority of the crypto industry.

During the Senate Banking Committee hearing titled “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers," Warren declared that crypto should be held to the same regulations as banking institutions:

“Senator Marshall and I introduced a bipartisan bill today that requires crypto to follow the same money-laundering rules as every bank, every broker and Western Union all have to follow today.”

In more recent times, Warren outlined her intention to reintroduce the bill at a Feb. 14 Senate Banking Commitee hearing titled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets."

She stated that the crypto communty wants decentralized entities running on code to be exempt from AML requirements.

“In other words, they want a giant loophole for DeFi written into the law so they can launder money whenever a drug lord or a terrorist pays them to do so" Warren stated during the hearing.

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ShapeShift responds to Sen. Warren’s comments to ‘set the record straight’

February 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AML

Switzerland-based crypto platform claimed Warren made “mistakes” in comments at a recent senate hearing, and encouraged her to “constructively engage” with its community.

Non-custodial crypto platform ShapeShift refuted United States Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claims of "illicit financing,” suggesting that she used the platform as a scapegoat to “push” her latest crypto bill, according to a recent statement.

ShapeShift stated in a tweet on Feb. 19 that Warren made “mistakes” in her “analysis” of the platform, at a recent senate banking committee hearing entitled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets,” on Feb. 14.

On Valentine's Day, @SenWarren attempted to use ShapeShift as an example to push her latest crypto bill.

Unfortunately, there were mistakes in the Senator's analysis, and we'd like to take the opportunity to set the record straight
— ShapeShift (@ShapeShift) February 18, 2023

In a follow-up tweet, ShapeShift denied Warren’s comments regarding its involvement with “illicit financing,” stating it “never handles user funds,” and has no ability to “facilitate this.”

This comes after Warren suggested at the senate hearing that ShapeShift had ulterior motives for restructuring itself as a DeFi platform in July 2021.

Warren suggested that the restructure was to encourage people to “launder” money on the platform.

Shapeshift also clarified that it is “not an exchange,” elaborating that it is an open-source crypto dashboard that “connects users” to different protocols and platforms.

It added that it cares about the “same things” as Warren, citing "user safety" and "access to innovation" as a mutual focus.

ShapeShift encouraged Warren and others to “constructively engage” in the topic of financial freedom and innovation with its community, sharing a link to its discussion forum.

This comes only a day after Erik Vorhees, CEO of ShapeShift, took to his personal Twitter on Feb. 18, stating that he is looking forward to Warren “submitting a proposal” to the Shapeshift DAO governance process, in response to her criticism of the platform.

Warren has been a vocal crypto sceptic in recent times, having made comments in an interview on Jan. 25, suggesting that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should “double down” on its crypto enforcement efforts, as the crypto industry is scared for what’s to come next.

She claimed that the previous SEC administration “essentially gave the green light” to open up a cryptocurrency market “full of junk tokens, unregistered securities, rug pulls, Ponzi schemes, pump and dumps, money laundering and sanctions evasions.”

Cointelegraph reached out to ShapeShift for comment but did not receive a response in time of publication.

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Fidelity will ‘shift’ retail customers into crypto soon, says Galaxy CEO

September 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

401k

While Fidelity hasn’t yet confirmed rumors it will launch retail Bitcoin trading, the firm said enabling broader access to digital assets remained a key area of focus.

$4.2 trillion asset management firm Fidelity Investments is reportedly working towards offering Bitcoin trading services to its 34.4 million retail investor base, according to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and people familiar with the matter.

While Fidelity hasn’t officially confirmed plans to incorporate crypto onto its retail platform, Novogratz told a conference audience in New York on Sept. 12, that the move may be just around the corner:

“A bird told me that Fidelity, a little bird in my ear, is going to shift their retail customers into crypto soon enough.”

“I hope that bird is right. So we are still this institutional march and that gives crypto its floor,” he added.

Novogratz isn’t the only person to have signaled the potential move from Fidelity. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Sept. 12 noted that that Fidelity is currently “weighing a plan” to allow individual investors to trade Bitcoin on its brokerage platform.

A similar note was shared by Eight Global Founder and CEO Michaël van de Poppe last week, suggesting that the platform will launch Bitcoin trading for retail customers in November.

Fidelity in a Sept. 12 statement addressed the rumors, noting:

"While we have nothing new to announce, expanding our offerings to enable broader access to digital assets remains an area of focus."

Fidelity Investment has been an active investor and playmaker in the crypto space, fueled by a growing demand from clients to access crypto investment opportunities.

Fidelity started mining Bitcoin in 2015 and launched a Bitcoin-trading business for hedge funds and institutional investors in 2018.

In April, Fidelity also began allowing its 401(k) retirement savings account holders to invest directly into Bitcoin (BTC), though this was later met with pushback from three U.S. senators including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called the launch of the Bitcoin product to be “immensely troubling.”

Fidelity is a multinational finance corporation that provides brokerage services, mutual funds management, investment advice, and retirement services and is the fourth largest asset management firm in the world, according to ADV ratings.

senator elizabeth warren