"U.S. Treasury Pushes for Enhanced Authority in Pursuit of Crypto Abroad"
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is seeking expanded powers to combat illicit finance in the crypto sector, including jurisdiction over non-U.S. stablecoin issuers like Tether. The proposed powers would allow the Treasury to enforce sanctions beyond American borders and target transactions unrelated to U.S. citizens. The department is requesting a new secondary sanctions tool against exchanges supporting terrorism and wants to strengthen its authority under the Bank Secrecy Act to target cryptocurrency entities facilitating terrorist funding. The proposal also suggests granting the Treasury extraterritorial jurisdiction over stablecoin transactions involving the U.S. dollar. Critics argue that the proposal represents a significant expansion of powers and could have unintended consequences.