Warren urges crackdown on Iran's 'increasingly profitable' bitcoin mining
Quick Take
- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling lawmakers to formulate ways to curb Iran’s bitcoin mining, as the Islamic regime uses the profits to flout sanctions against it.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is urging the Biden Administration to address Iran's foray into crypto mining as that country leverages lucrative bitcoin operations to circumvent international sanctions.
In the letter, sent on Wednesday to the Secretaries of the Treasury and Defense and National Security Advisor Jake Sullian, Warren argued Iran’s crypto operations pose a “direct threat to… national security,” The Hill reported. As a result, one of the Senate's most outspoken crypto critics requested that the administration outline Iran’s “reliance on crypto mining…. to earn revenue and bypass sanction” to mitigate the issue.
“Iran has raised millions of dollars through mining crypto—a steady revenue source that allows it to purchase imports, move funds domestically and internationally, and fund Hamas and other terrorist organizations,” the lawmaker said Wednesday in the letter.
From 2015 to 2021, Iranian bitcoin mining platforms generated substantial revenue, amassing $186 million from their operations, as reported in the letter citing data.
Warren has often warned U.S. officials of the risks posed by global crypto adoption. She also called on lawmakers this week to take action on Russia's appropriation of crypto to flout international actions against it.
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