Under the title “Transparency and Accountability in Cryptocurrencies Act” (TRCA), it is intended to establish a stricter regulatory framework to supervise and control transactions of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in the United States. This is through a new bill that was introduced today in the Senate by US legislator Elizabeth Warren.
The bill is seen by the cryptocurrency industry as dangerous as it extends the bank secrecy law in the crypto asset sector. It does this by requiring service companies, such as exchanges, custodial and non-custodial wallets, and bitcoin ATMs, to meet the same supervisory requirements as traditional financial institutions.
Its objective is to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used to commit crimes. To do so, we start from the principle that all users of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies must be monitored. This includes the implementation of anti-money laundering measures, such as customer identity verification or KYC procedures and the reporting of suspicious transactions, which are nothing more than operations greater than USD 1,000.
If this law is approved, financial institutions would also be prohibited from interacting with companies that offer services that obfuscate the trail of transactions, such as cryptocurrency mixers. All with the idea of helping bitcoin users protect their privacy.
“The Treasury Department is making clear that we need new laws to crack down on the use of cryptocurrencies to allow terrorist groups, rogue nations, drug traffickers, ransomware gangs and fraudsters to launder billions in stolen funds, evade sanctions, finance illegal weapons programs and benefit from devastating cyberattacks.” says Elizabeth Warren.
The legislator added that five new senators "joined the fight to take action against the misuse of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies." Among those who support the proposal are three members of the Banking Committee and, in addition, it gains strength by having 19 co-sponsors.
“Our bipartisan bill is the toughest proposal on the table to combat the illicit use of cryptocurrencies and give regulators more tools to do so,” Warren added.
The bill is also supported by the Bank Policy Institute, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, Transparency International US, Global Financial Integrity, the National District Attorneys Association, among others, according to a post by Bitcoin Magazine. Warren's initiative reached the Senate at a time in which an entire regulatory onslaught has fallen on the cryptocurrency sector in the United States, causing a stampede of exchanges. cryptoasset exchanges and other industry players.