Executives from Coinbase and Circle have urged US authorities to step up their efforts against Tether and other offshore cryptocurrency companies that don’t follow the law.
The head of Financial Crimes Legal at Coinbase, Grant Rabenn, addressed the problem of criminals using overseas platforms to get around the stringent anti-money laundering (AML) regulations imposed on regulated exchanges operating within the United States during a meeting with the House Financial Services Committee.
According to Rabenn, only 560 cryptocurrency addresses have been approved by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). But a Coinbase probe turned up over eight million addresses connected to rogues.
Rabenn asked the authorities to pursue these platforms, accusing offshore exchanges of facilitating money laundering and cryptocurrency-related criminal activity in the United States.
“Offshore entities often play jurisdictional whack-a-mole, attempting to avoid tough AML laws and expecting that regulators won’t care.”
In addition to voicing his support for recent enforcement actions in the crypto sector that highlight the need for accountability, Rabenn emphasized the significance of the U.S. using its entire array of regulatory powers to pursue these non-compliant businesses.
Caroline Hill, Chief of Global Policy and Regulatory Strategy at Circle, spoke in favor of stringent regulation of organizations associated with the US currency, emphasizing the significance of incorporating democratic values into stablecoins backed by the USD.
Hill urged the government to use its current authority to address any involvement in aiding financial crimes, mentioning Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether’s principal custodian. According to Caroline Hill:
“I would think that the Treasury Department has the authority to take actions against Tether, given this U.S. touchpoint, and I hope that they’re looking at this seriously.”
She also voiced worries about stablecoin issuers’ operations, especially those that don’t use smart contract technology or other preventive steps to stop token misuse.
