U.S. Senate’s Warren Warns National Security Chiefs About Iranian Crypto Mining

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King asked the heads of the Department of Defense and the Treasury Department to explain what they are doing about Iran’s crypto mining.

A letter from the MP suggested the country relied on mining to finance itself outside the scope of sanctions.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of the most prominent critics of cryptocurrency dangers, has warned top military and financial officials that Iran is relying on digital asset mining as a source of revenue that could ease the pressure of U.S. sanctions.

Warren and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to question what officials are doing about Iran’s “increasingly lucrative” relationship with crypto mining . “It poses a direct threat to our national security.”

The letter, dated May 1, outlined Iran’s status as a leading jurisdiction for bitcoin {{BTC}} mining and how its central bank is channeling the cryptocurrency to fund the economy; however, most of the quotes were based on activity in 2021.

“Cryptocurrency mining has become such a massive industry in Iran that it has strained the country’s energy grid and led the Iranian government to temporarily suspend crypto mining several times after it was blamed for major outages,” the lawmakers wrote.

Read More: Iran Bans Crypto Mining Until March 6 to Save Power: Report

Senators also noted Iran’s history of cryptocurrency laundering and the government’s ties to ransomware operations operating on digital assets.

Warren and King instructed the officials to “describe the steps the administration is taking to address the threats to U.S. national security posed by Iran’s reliance on crypto mining and cryptocurrency more generally to generate revenue and evade sanctions.”

The lawmakers’ letter was sent ahead of Thursday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats.

UPDATE (May 2, 2024, 15:57 UTC): Added context regarding the timing of the letter before the threats were heard.