Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
After concerning reports that Hamas and other terrorist groups may be raising money in cryptocurrency, I’m joining with my colleagues to push the Biden admin to take steps to limit crypto’s use in financing terrorism.
Mark Warner
Democrat Senator from Virginia
Notable statements
Very anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
We need to give the government modern tools to crack down on financial crime that uses cryptocurrencies. I’m proud to have introduced bipartisan legislation to enforce sanctions and protect our national security. warner.senate.gov/public/index.c…
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
We need to make sure Russia isn’t using crypto to evade sanctions – that’s why I’ve introduced a law to close loopholes and make sure our sanctions keep working. We’re making a real impact on the Russian economy, but we have to keep pushing.
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
This is an important EO from the Biden admin at a critical time – I look forward to working alongside the administration further as they continue to develop a clear federal strategy for crypto that prioritizes competition and economic security.
cnbc.com/2022/03/09/her…
Somewhat pro-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
Continued my advocacy on this issue this morning by directly asking Fed Chair Powell about it – we must make sure that Russians are not using crypto to evade the sanctions the U.S. and our global allies have imposed.
buzzfeednews.com/article/sarahe…
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
RT @SenJackReed: We can’t let Putin & his cronies use crypto to evade sanctions. Joined @SenWarren @MarkWarner @SenSherrodBrown in urging U…
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
Second, it’s well-understood that if you pay for something in more than $10,000 cash, there’s a reporting requirement. The bill made clear that this applies to crypto, too, as Treasury had proposed. Even @BlockchainAssn claimed this was common sense bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Neutral on crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
The tax gap is especially pronounced in two areas:
1) Cryptocurrency exchanges (some of which openly advertise non-compliance) and custodial wallets, and
2) Businesses that receive cryptocurrency as payment but don’t report it.
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
They’ve made clear the scope of these provisions is limited – and said repeatedly to Senators that it would not capture miners in proof of work contexts, nor validators in proof of stake contexts. Nor would it capture devs simply contributing code to cryptocurrency projects. pic.twitter.com/lpqg1BKrGA
Somewhat pro-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
First, we need to acknowledge that the innovation and excitement surrounding digital assets has at times obscured some real problems – perhaps none greater than the tax evasion and non-compliance we have continued to see.
cnbc.com/2021/05/31/cry…
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
As we saw on a different front last week, these decentralized exchanges seek to openly flout the established governance regime the US has sought to maintain.
sec.gov/news/press-rel…
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
Some have misinterpreted previous language I had offered to favor proof of work cryptocurrencies – the intent was anything but: to reiterate, all the drafters have repeatedly emphasized they do *not* see validators under any consensus mechanism as subject to compliance.
Somewhat pro-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
For over a week, the Administration has reiterated to all Senators involved that the scope of these rules would not extend to parts of the crypto ecosystem where entities wouldn’t in their normal course of business be able to collect the relevant information for tax reporting.
Somewhat pro-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
To be fair, obscure provisions of tax law aren’t something most Americans have a passing familiarity with. And in an area as complex and fast-moving as digital assets – it benefits all of us to be clear and get things right.
Somewhat pro-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
First, we’re seeing decentralized exchanges openly advertise their non-compliance w/ regulatory and tax rules – that’s something that we seek to address in this legislation by making clear that, notwithstanding their claims, they’re still subject to compliance.
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
As @FACTcoalition has emphasized, that clarification from my colleagues was not necessary – and would have hastily and over-broadly carved out DeFi exchanges and custodians, even when they *are* in a position to collect this compliance information.
thefactcoalition.org/congress-shoul…
Somewhat anti-crypto
Mark Warner
@MarkWarner
RT @WardDPatrick: The White House on crypto amendments, statement from @AndrewJBates46: pic.twitter.com/C8sG5aM3oW
Neutral on crypto