The Department of the Treasury is soliciting public feedback on national security and illicit finance risks posed by digital assets in accordance with a recently released action plan and a March executive order on digital assets.
The department is asking the public to cite illicit finance risks associated with non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance and peer-to-peer payment technologies and suggest additional steps the U.S. government should do to detect, disrupt and deter the misuse of digital assets, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.
The Treasury is also looking for ways on how it can effectively support the integration of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism controls into a potential U.S. central bank digital currency design.
Other questions pertaining to AML/CFT regulation and supervision, global implementation of AML/CFT standards and private sector engagement are also listed in the notice.
“Without appropriate controls and enforcement of existing laws, digital assets can pose a significant risk to national security by facilitating illicit finance, such as money laundering, cybercrime and terrorist actions,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
“As we work to implement the Illicit Finance Action Plan, hold bad actors accountable and identify potential gaps in existing enforcement, we look forward to receiving the public’s input on this urgent work,” added Nelson.
Public comments are due Nov. 3.
