Two U.S. Senators, Elizabeth Warren and Bill Cassidy, have asked the Biden adminstration to furnish them with updates on what the U.S. government is doing to curb the use of crypto in fentanyl trafficking. According to Warren and Cassidy, decentralized crypto exchange platforms are enabling the trafficking of Chinese-supplied fentanyl precursors.
Elizabeth Warren: Crypto Prominent in the Global Fentanyl Trade Over the Last Decade
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U.S. Senators Link Crypto to International Fentanyl Trafficking
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and prominent cryptocurrency critic, has asked the Biden administration to provide updates on its efforts to combat the use of cryptocurrency in the international fentanyl trafficking scene. In a letter co-signed with Sen. Bill Cassidy, Warren claimed that cryptocurrency has played an “increasingly prominent role in the global fentanyl trade over the past decade.”
The letter also asserts that both the Biden administration and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s government have acknowledged crypto’s role in enabling the illegal drug trade or have taken steps to curb its use. To support this assertion, Warren and Cassidy cited two instances in which the administrations did so.
The two senators’ letter also zeroed in on the alleged role that cryptocurrency plays in helping fentanyl precursor chemical traders evade detection by law enforcement. According to Warren and Cassidy, the use of decentralized cryptocurrency exchange platforms is enabling Chinese-supplied fentanyl precursors to end up in drugs that are trafficked to the U.S.
“A May 2023 investigation into 90 China-based companies that supply fentanyl precursors
found that 90 per cent accepted cryptocurrency payments. The same investigation found that cryptocurrency wallets used by these companies collectively received nearly $30 million in crypto payments—enough to purchase the necessary precursors to produce a staggering $54 billion worth of fentanyl pills,” the two Senators’ letter said.
Crypto Transactions Involving Chinese Fentanyl Precursors Surge
The letter also suggested that the number of crypto transactions with these China-based companies, which grew by 450% year-on-year, has been surging largely because these are undetectable.
While acknowledging that the Biden administration has in the past taken steps to combat this problem, Warren and Cassidy have however asked to be furnished with the U.S. government’s current assessment of crypto’s role in the illegal drug trade. The duo also said they want to know what the administration has done to tackle crypto’s role in fentanyl trafficking since December 2021.
Warren and Cassidy said the Biden administration should also inform them of any challenges or statutory limits they face in their quest to tackle cryptocurrency’s use in illegal drug transactions. According to the two Senators, the Biden administration must have furnished answers to their questions by June 14, 2024.
What are your thoughts on Warren and Cassidy’s letter? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
