The two senators, Elizabeth Warren, and William Cassidy have urged drug agencies in the United States to provide more information on the new application of cryptocurrency in the fentanyl market. DEA’s administrator, Anne Milgram, and the ONDCP director, Rahul Gupta, have been called by the congressmen in their letter dated May 29 to forward their current data and work tackling this problem.
Both Warren and Cassidy have for quite a now claimed that cryptocurrency is instrumental in the fentanyl market through funding and money laundering. They are calling for specifics on how large role a cryptocurrencies continue to play in drug sales specifically focusing on fentanyl, what new actions they plan to launch in a one-year time frame, and how success will be defined in combating unlawful use of crypto in the fentanyl market. They also want to know the difficulties experienced by these agencies in fighting the use of cryptocurrency for drug-related transactions.
In their speech, the Senators pointed to an investigation conducted in May 2023 stating that around $30 million worth of cryptocurrency payments had been made to approximately 80 Chinese firms that were involved in providing fentanyl precursors. This quantity would be enough to manufacture fentanyl pills worth about $54 billion.
Warren has been nailed before for using what can be interpreted as misinformation to make her anti-crypto stance. She referred to an article published in the Wall Street Journal in October 2023, which exaggerated the use of cryptocurrencies in financing terrorism linked to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. However, after the WSJ made the correction, Warren decided not to acknowledge the misinformation publicly.
Well, one of Ripple’s most prominent legal voices, John Deaton, does not plan to remain silent anymore – he wants to become the next senator in Massachusetts and unseat Elizabeth Warren. Deaton said he was ready to discuss topics concerning income distribution and the opioid epidemic.
