Elizabeth Warren backs expanded US sanction alternatives for stablecoins

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren has written a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen regarding Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on April 9. In her letter, Warren reiterated her stance on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) measures for stablecoins. Adeyemo appeared before the Senate to discuss the Treasury’s proposals for expanding sanctions powers to blockchain validator node operators and other related measures. The Treasury outlined its enforcement goals in a document referred to as a “letter to Congress,” which Warren mentioned in her letter. However, it appears that Warren was not referring to the stablecoin bill introduced by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis on April 17. This bill, which is 179 pages long, does not extensively cover AML/CFT measures. Instead, Warren might be referring to a bill expected to come out of the House of Representatives from Finance Committee Chair Patrick McHenry and ranking member Maxine Waters. Warren sent a letter to them on April 8, expressing similar concerns as in her letter to Yellen. Warren concluded her letter to the treasury secretary by stating her position. Taylor Barr, a Digital Chamber Senior Policy Associate, commented on the situation, possibly referring to the Lummis-Gillibrand bill, and questioned Warren’s omission of certain aspects of the bill.