Hamas financing links to crypto may help Elizabeth Warren pass legislation

Happy Sunday!

Amid the war in Gaza, recent media reports linking Hamas financing to crypto may be providing renewed momentum to US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s effort to pass anti-money laundering legislation through Congress. Coinbase is not happy with a new US crypto tax proposal and Chinese-owned Bitcoin mines across the US are drawing scrutiny. Read on!

Hamas reports may push crypto bill

Media reports alleging that Hamas has obtained financing via cryptocurrencies have provided new momentum for US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s attempt to push a bill that would impose new anti-money laundering rules on crypto — rules that digital asset firms have opposed, according to a report by Politico.

“The danger of crypto-financed terrorism is real and should be an urgent priority for Congress,” Warren said in an interview. “There’s a growing bipartisan coalition of senators who are committed to passing this bill and fighting back against terrorism worldwide by choking off the financing.”

Coinbase warns IRS on tax proposal

Crypto exchange Coinbase told the US Internal Revenue Service that its proposed crypto tax reporting requirements could harm the industry and invade the privacy of American citizens, CoinPedia reported.

A letter from Lawrence Zlatkin, vice president of tax for Coinbase Global, said: “These rules would establish an incomprehensible and unduly burdensome set of new reporting requirements that will degrade and displace the same taxpayer services the IRS is seeking to improve.”

Cyprus eyes unregistered crypto firms

Authorities in Cyprus are considering penalties on crypto firms that fail to register with relevant agencies, Bitcoin.com reported, citing local media.

Offending crypto entities would be fined as much as $350,000 and individuals would face a maximum jail term of five years, according to a proposal submitted by the Finance Ministry to the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs.

Chinese-owned US Bitcoin mines scrutinised

There is growing unease among US government officials amid an increase in Chinese-owned Bitcoin mines across America, many of them equipped with computers made by Bitmain, a Chinese company that claims to control 90% of the global market, the New York Times reported.

Since China banned Bitcoin mining in 2021, Bitmain has shipped 15 times more equipment to the US than it did in the previous five years combined. Some of the mine owners are not known, and some can be traced to the Chinese government, the report said.

Latin America favours centralised exchanges

Some Latin American countries display a preference for centralised exchanges over decentralised, compared with the rest of the world, Cryptotelegraph said, citing a report from Chainalysis.

The global average preference for CEXs is 48.1%, while in Venezuela it is 92.5%, in Colombia 74%, and Argentina 63.8%. The report said during the Covid pandemic in 2020, crypto played an important role in assisting health-care professionals in Venezuela.

What we’re reading around the web

U.S. House Speaker Drama Could Threaten to Unravel Crypto’s 2023 Chances — CoinDesk

Caroline Ellison’s testimony in SBF case was strong, but was it credible? — DL News

The Crypto Exchange Moving Money for Criminal Gangs, Rich Russians and a Hamas-Linked Terror Group — Wall Street Journal