INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
US Democrats introduce bill to curb Russian crypto use amid Ukraine crisisDemocratic US senators introduced a bill on Thursday that would
enable the president to sanction foreign cryptocurrency firms doing business with sanctioned Russian entities and prevent them from
transacting with United States customers.The Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Act is led by Senator Elizabeth Warren and co-sponsored by
10 other Democrats, including Senators Mark Warner and Jon Tester.While the bill is unlikely to become law anytime soon, it could ramp up
pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges, which have been on the defensive amid concerns from some lawmakers like Warren that digital assets are
being used to circumvent a slew of Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.Russian President Vladimir Putin
"and his cronies can move, store and hide their wealth using cryptocurrencies, potentially allowing them to evade the historic economic
statement.The administration officials have said they do not believe Russia could use cryptocurrencies to completely evade sanctions, citing
the lack of liquidity in crypto markets to facilitate high-volume transactions
Nevertheless, the Treasury Department has emphasized that digital asset firms are required to comply with the sanctions.Warren's bill
would also allow the Treasury secretary to block digital asset platforms operating in the United States from transacting with any Russian
crypto users, a step that major crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken have said they would not take without a legal requirement.The bill
would also require the Treasury to publicly identify foreign crypto trading platforms deemed to be at high risk for sanctions evasion and
money laundering, and would require US taxpayers to report any offshore crypto transactions exceeding $10,000.(This story has not been
edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
