The United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion recently held a hearing on the use of blockchain technology in the context of crypto crime. The bipartisan hearing aimed to address misconceptions and explore ways to combat illicit activities involving digital assets. The discussion was prompted by an article published by The Wall Street Journal, which highlighted the use of crypto by Hamas for fundraising. However, the article was later corrected to provide a more accurate representation of the data. The panel of witnesses, including representatives from ConsenSys and Chainalysis, emphasized the importance of international collaboration and public-private partnerships in preventing the misuse of digital assets. They also discussed the need for well-crafted legislation and the complexities of investigating blockchain transactions. During the hearing, Dynamic Securities Analytics President Alison Jimenez was asked for an example of a licit use of a crypto mixer but was unable to provide one. In addition to the hearing, a bipartisan group of House members sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, requesting information on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fundraising and the role of cryptocurrency in these efforts. The letter acknowledged the importance of understanding the scope of Hamas’s digital assets fundraising campaign in relation to its traditional funding activities. It also mentioned the potential for traditional fundraising methods to surpass the revenue generated through crypto. The Blockchain Association also released an open letter to the Financial Services Committee, signed by former members of the U.S. military, intelligence officers, and national security professionals with links to digital assets companies or venture capital. They expressed concern about the use of the debunked Wall Street Journal article to push legislation that could be counterproductive to U.S. national security interests. The letter emphasized the need to foster a regulated and compliant digital asset industry to effectively address bad actors.

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Information	Details
Geography	Middle East
Countries	🇺🇸
Sentiment	neutral
Relevance Score	1
People	Alison Jimenez, Stephen Lynch, Ritchie Torres, Brad Sherman, French Hill
Companies	Hogan Lovells, Blockchain Association, Chainalysis, ConsenSys, Dynamic Securities Analytics
Currencies	US Dollar, Cronos
Securities	None