Warren and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and National Security Advisory Jake Sullivan to question what the authorities are doing about Iran’s “increasingly lucrative” relationship with crypto mining that “poses a direct threat to our national security.”
The letter, dated May 1, outlined Iran’s status as a leading jurisdiction for bitcoin (BTC) mining and how its central bank channels cryptocy to fund the economy, though many of the citations were based on activity in 2021.
“Cryptomining has become such a big industry in Iran that it has strained the country’s energy grid, leading the Iranian government to temporarily suspend cryptomining several times after it was blamed for massive blackouts,” the lawmakers wrote.
The senators also noted Iran’s history with crypto money laundering and that government’s ties to ransomware operations that work in digital assets.
Warren and King directed the officials to “describe the steps the administration is taking to address threats to U.S. national security posed by Iran’s reliance on cryptomining and cryptocy more generally to earn revenue and bypass sanctions.”
The lawmakers’ letter was sent in advance of Thursday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is calling for legislation to ban prediction markets that allow traders to bet…
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed a new rule that would allow cryptocy brokers to deliver…
Global fintech powerhouse Revolut has filed an application for a U.S. banking license, a move that would allow…
A man accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars in cryptocy from U.S. government…
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) — the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange — has taken a strategic…
A new study from the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) found that leading artificial intelligence models overwhelmingly favor Bitcoin…