The Biden administration is set Thursday to designate international “mixers,” cryptocurrency exchanges that provide customers anonymity, as money-laundering hubs that threaten national security. The designation, a form of sanction, will require special reporting for any financial transactions.
The Treasury Department’s action, using one its most powerful weapons to combat illicit finance, represents a significant regulatory step meant to shape the future of the global financial system. “Today’s action underscores Treasury’s commitment to combating the exploitation of Convertible Virtual Currency mixing by a broad range of illicit actors, including state-affiliated cyber actors, cyber criminals, and terrorist groups,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy Treasury secretary. “More broadly, the Treasury Department is aggressively combating illicit use of all aspects of the CVC ecosystem by terrorist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
