US lawmakers seek to curb Treasury powers to block crypto transactions

US Representative Jim Himes opposed expanding the Treasury’s powers to block accounts and cryptocurrency transactions.

Thanks for working with us on this @jerrybrito Good outcome. https://t.co/RSf5PBQ10L

— Jim Himes (@jahimes) January 31, 2022

The bill concerns The America COMPETES Act of 2022. On January 25, a document was introduced by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Currently, the Treasury secretary has the power to block accounts he deems involved in money-laundering operations. However, the department is required to publicly announce this and give the public an opportunity to comment.

Coin Center’s executive director Jerry Brito noted that the bill lifts these restrictions. According to him, the so-called special measures provision would give the secretary of the treasury “unlimited and unilateral powers to prohibit exchanges and other financial institutions from participating in cryptocurrency transactions”.

Himes, a member of the Working Group on Cryptocurrencies, prepared an amendment aimed at preserving the restrictions and the 120-day blocking period. He will bring the document up for discussion soon.

Earlier it emerged that the U.S. Treasury would revisit the controversial FinCEN proposal. It would require mandatory verification of users of non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets.

As Bloomberg reported, the Biden administration was to present a government-wide strategy on digital assets in February 2022.

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