Bitcoin Under Attack by U.S. Congress

Bitcoin is back in the arena of the US Congress. Senator Elizabeth Warren resumes her foregone crusade against “unhosted wallets”.

The Bogeyman of Terrorism

Last week, Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to combat the use of bitcoin in financial criminal activities.

The senator got to work shortly after the skirmishes on October 7 in Israel. She relied on an article from the Wall Street Journal that shamelessly linked Hamas funding to bitcoin.

The WSJ was so quick to launch its propaganda that the firm Chainalysis swiftly refuted the figures quoted in the article. A week later, it was the turn of Elliptic to publish its own correction, conceding that its data had been misinterpreted.

In the end, the amounts involved were close to $450,000, as opposed to the $82 million suggested in the article… But that was enough for the Democrat to get over 100 members of Congress to sign a letter calling for action against bitcoin.

Elizabeth Warren rolled out the heavy clichés in an attempt to obtain a majority in Congress:

“The Treasury Department clearly indicates that we need new laws to crack down on the use of cryptocurrencies which allows terrorist groups, rogue nations, drug lords, ransomware gangs, and fraudsters to launder billions of dollars in stolen funds, evade sanctions, finance illegal weapons programs and profit from devastating cyber attacks.”

In reality, less than 1% of bitcoin transactions are linked to criminal activities.

Bitcoin Wallets in the Crosshairs

Like the European Commission, what really bothers them is the possibility of being able to hold one’s own money.

Senator Warren’s proposed bill aims to impose stricter reporting obligations by extending the responsibilities of the Bank Secrecy Act. Particularly in terms of KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements for transactions involving “unhosted wallets”, and so on.

This is what CBDC enthusiasts truly dream of banning one day: NO KYC wallets. Bitcoin is a threat to their ambitions of total control over our lives.

Elizabeth Warren: “In theory a digital currency, issued and backed by a central bank, could provide the advantages of cryptocurrency without those risks.”pic.twitter.com/562GosrdLv

— TFTC (@TFTC21) December 12, 2023

Elizabeth Warren intensified the pressure this week in a letter accusing exchanges of hiring former national security and justice officials for lobbying against her regulations.

It’s ironic when you consider that it was the banks that authored her legislative text:

Who could be so brazen as to write legislation that would effectively ban #crypto? 
 
Senator @RogerMarshallMD, the GOP frontman of the crypto ban bill, revealed the American Bankers Association wrote it. #StopCryptoBan pic.twitter.com/dHufIaXB7i

— Chamber of Digital Commerce (@DigitalChamber) December 19, 2023

Banks fear losing a portion of their revenue. Particularly regarding international fund transfers. The Lightning Network also threatens the turf of Visa and Mastercard.

The CEO of exchange Coinbase hit back today. Brian Armstrong reminded that 52 million potential voters for the 2024 presidential election have already used cryptocurrencies.

Not to mention the fact that bitcoin is up 160% since the start of the year. Or that giants like BlackRock and Fidelity are not in favor of this killer legislation.