Sen. Warren Wants to Know How Drug Agencies Are Pursuing Crypto Ties to Fentanyl

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to know what the Biden administration is doing about restricting the use of cryptocurrency in fentanyl trafficking, according to a letter she and another lawmaker sent to the White House National Office of Drug Control Policy and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). .

In the letter, Warren and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) requested updates on “actions to prevent drug traffickers from leveraging cryptocurrency to expand their businesses and launder their ill-gotten gains.” “Over the past decade it has played an increasingly prominent role in the global fentanyl trade, both in facilitating the production and trafficking of fentanyl and in laundering the proceeds of crime for drug cartels.”

The U.S. Treasury Department and federal law enforcement pursued networks and individuals involved in the trafficking of fentanyl precursor chemicals.

Read More: Chinese Firms Used Crypto Payments to Run Fentanyl Network, US Claims Paid

Warren suggested last year that laws were needed to stop the use of digital assets in this part of the global drug trade.

The senator faces an election this year, and the announcement of his latest letter was made just hours before Republican John Deaton, a crypto supporter trying to unseat the leading lawmaker, appeared at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2024 event.