Following up on a hearing from last November, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion held yesterday, “Crypto Crime in Context Part II: Examining Approaches to Combat Illicit Activity.” See the on-demand webcast.
Led by Chair French Hill (R, AR) and Ranking Member Steven Lynch (D, MA), industry witnesses included the following (click name for prepared testimony):
-
- Caroline Hill, Senior Director of Global Policy, Circle
- Michael Mosier, Co-Founder, Arktouros
- Grant Rabenn, Director, Financial Crimes Legal, Coinbase
- Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy, TRM Labs
- Carole House, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
Of note, Ms. House was the behind-the-scenes creator of President Joseph Biden‘s Digital Assets Executive Order released in March 2022.
The Subcommittee also previewed a slew of new legislation – see it on the hearing page – including a study requiring Treasury, SEC and CFTC to look at decentralize finance (DeFi).
(Will HFS Chair Patrick McHenry (R, NC) hold another HFS markup soon?)
In his opening remarks, Chair Hill noted that crypto was not a primary source of financing for terrorists – traditioinal finance was the culprit. Hill referenced Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson’s testimony on the previous day in front of the HFS full committee. But, Hill admitted any use of crypto in illicit finance is too much and pointed to the digital asset market structure bill as a solution.
The bill awaits a House floor vote after passing through a markup last July.
Ranking Member Lynch spoke next and said that digital assets were “vulnerable” to illicit finance. Overall in his opening statement, Lynch’s tone was more muted on digital assets than past hearings by a key member of Democratic leadership on HFS. He said that he favored promoting responsible innovation. Continue reading “Illicit Finance Gets Another Hearing From HFS Digital Assets Subcommittee”