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US Senator Elizabeth Warren criticizes foreign cryptocurrency miners, saying they threaten national security
Prominent cryptocurrency critic and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is declaring war on digital asset miners, particularly foreign-owned facilities, over their perceived environmental and national security risks.
During a recent meeting of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearingWarren questioned the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for Investment Security, the Honorable Paul Rosen, about the threat these entities pose on U.S. soil.
A threat on US soil
Warren claimed that Chinese nationals and people with direct ties to the Chinese government own a third of cryptocurrency mining facilities in the United States, insisting that they can be used for espionage and to threaten the U.S. energy sector, energy resources and energy supply chains. She cited a New York Times report that Chinese-owned Bitcoin mining facilities in the United States use enough energy to power 1.5 million homes.
According to Warren, these mining facilities are loud, hot, and “suck a lot of electricity,” which could shatter the nation’s energy greed. She called cryptocurrency mining an environmental disaster that also poses national security risks.
“Foreign adversaries are using cryptomines to spy on U.S. military operations. This is an obvious national security risk. But it is not the only risk. Foreign-owned cryptomines also threaten the energy grid…
“National security experts have warned that connecting foreign-owned cryptocurrency facilities to our energy grid could leave the United States vulnerable to targeted blackouts and cyberattacks,” the politician said.
Warren further explained that these foreign nationals were able to purchase U.S.-based cryptocurrency mining facilities by paying in cryptocurrency, bypassing the traditional banking system and its anti-money laundering (AML) measures. underlined the need to “plug the holes” by implementing AML regulations in the cryptocurrency sector.
Senator Roger Drops Support for DAAMLA
Senator Warren’s latest dig at cryptocurrency miners comes as Senator Marshall Rogers he retires his support for the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act (DAAMLA), which they co-sponsored and introduced last year.
DAAMLA is an anti-crypto bill that aims to subject the industry to existing AML laws and counter-terrorism financing networks. It has earned with the support of multiple entities, including the Bank Policy Institute, the National District Attorneys Association, and the National Consumers League.