US Treasury Official Says Crypto Mixers Are Concern in Enforcing Sanctions

Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the United States Department of the Treasury, suggested sanctioning cryptocurrency mixers could help strengthen the government’s response to foreign entities looking to use digital assets for illicit means. In a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, which covered sanctions on Russia, Rosenberg said having the Treasury Department add crypto mixers like Blender.io or Tornado Cash to its list of Specially Designated Nationals could be an effective way of signaling the U.S. government was acting to prevent entities from circumventing sanctions. "When [sanctions] can serve as a deterrent to any criminal that would seek to use a mixer in order to launder their funds [...] that’s an effective avenue we can use in order to signal that we cannot tolerate money laundering," said Rosenberg. "Whether that's for a Russian criminal actor, an Iranian, a North Korean or wherever they may come from."