The U.S. said some firms in the digital asset sector are not doing enough to stop the flow of illicit finance to terrorist organizations.
However, he added that some firms in the digital asset space "wish to innovate without regards to its consequences, including protecting against illicit finance." Adeyemo added that the U.S. "will use every tool available" in its efforts to target platforms that facilitate the movement of resources for terrorists.On Friday the U.S. issued a second round of sanctions against Hamas, including the targeting of a Hamas official in Iran and members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Officials in the U.S. called for a crackdown on the use of cryptocurrency to fund terrorism and evade sanctions in the wake of the attacks. On Thursday, Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said crypto platforms often do not use the "same common-sense protections," such as know your customer rules, that keep illicit finance away from traditional sectors.