In a letter issued on May 1st, to the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin and Janet Yellen, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King sounded an alarm over Iran potentially using cryptocurrency mining to fund terrorist groups and attacks.
In the letter, Warren and King alleged that Iran’s government could be linked to local crypto miners, whose digital money-making operations may be providing funds used to bankroll terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. Shockingly, they claim these illicit crypto funds even helped finance Iran’s recent deadly drone strike on U.S. troops in Jordan.
Senators Warren and Angus King questioning US efforts to stop Iran from allegedly using crypto mining to evade sanctions, and fund terrorism | Source: Senator Warren
The senators are demanding the Biden administration hand over any intelligence on Iranian crypto miners’ earnings, how the money might be laundered, and what’s being done to neutralize these threats. They also cite a recent report that Iran’s Bitcoin miners raked in a staggering $1 billion in 2021 revenue, with the regime favouring newly created crypto that’s harder to trace.
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