Crypto Advocacy Group Urges Senate Banking Chair to Reject Elizabeth Warren’s DAAMLA Bill

US crypto advocacy group, the Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC), is opposing Senator Elizabeth Warren’s anti money-laundering (AML) DAAMLA legislation, claiming she is “trying to kill the entire industry,” according to a tweet yesterday on X.

Digital assets have been under attack from politicians for years, but never like this. Senators @SenWarren and @SenSherrodBrown are trying to kill the entire industry, and their efforts are moving forward. pic.twitter.com/n7jJEAIjKI

— The Digital Chamber (@DigitalChamber) February 20, 2024

In a followup tweet, the lobbying group called Warren’s Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act (DAAMLA) “the greatest threat our industry has faced” while linking readers to a petition to stop the bill, which it labels “a proposed crypto ban.”

The CDC also sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee Chair, Sherrod Brown, another DAAMLA supporter. Signed by Perianne Boring, the lobbying group’s founder and CEO, the letter warns: “this bill, if passed, will erase hundreds of billions of dollars in value for U.S. start–ups and decimate the savings of countless Americans invested in this asset class
legally.”

Boring’s letter also mentions a potential national security threat, as “this bill will ensure we cede any remaining leadership position in the digital economy to China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.”

The main issue with the proposed bill, according to the CDC, is the “draconian” transaction reporting requirements placed on crypto miners and validators.

The CDC likens the “absurd” reporting requirements to an “ink manufacturer tasked with tracking every individual who ever handles a single dollar bill printed with their ink, across the entire globe.”

Finally, the letter also alleges the bill will have “far–reaching implications, including the potential to ban digital assets in the U.S.” It concludes: “This revelation underscores the urgency of our plea: [DAAMLA] is not worthy of consideration.”

A History of Opposition to Warren’s DAAMLA

Democrat Elizabeth Warren introduced DAAMLA in 2022 and the lawmaker has been trying to push it through Congress ever since.

The debate around DAAMLA has intensified lately, as crypto faces renewed scrutiny before the US Presidential elections this year.

In February, the Blockchain Association, a group representing the industry’s interests in Washington, sent its second letter to the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee, expressing concerns over a bill sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The letter was signed by 80 signatories, among whom were many former U.S. military, law enforcement, national security, and intelligence officers. The previous letter, sent November last year, attracted 40 signatories largely from within those fields.

Last week, the chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, US Congressman French Hill, questioned crypto experts about the implications of subjecting digital asset miners and validators to the same regulations as financial institutions.

Although Hill didn’t specifically mention Warren’s DAAMLA, his words echo common concerns surrounding it. He pointed out that “bad actors” like terrorists and gangsters still prefer laundering money through traditional finance.

Hill also highlighted that subjecting miners/validators to more stringent reporting requirements makes little sense, as they do not deal directly with customers but instead provide a necessary service for the running of blockchain networks.