JAKARTA - In a US Senate hearing that took place on Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted the use of crypto assets by North Korea and the increasing crypto fraud known as "pig butchering". Warren insists that overall, crypto assets pose a "threat to national security".
In a question and answer session with Admiral John C.quilino of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, Warren revealed that North Korea could finance more than 56 intercontinental ballistic missiles with $1.7 billion stolen crypto assets by 2022.quilino admitted that this number did not surprise him.
North Korea has long been known for its crypto malware group, with state-backed hacker collectives such as Lazarus Group and crypto mixer totaling sanctions by the US Treasury Department in November 2023 due to illegal activity.
However, a 2024 crypto crime report from blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis found that funds sent to crypto mixers from illegal addresses decreased by nearly half a billion dollars last year, "most likely due to law enforcement and regulation efforts".
Senate Trial Discusses "Pig Butchering" Fraud
Warren's criticism of crypto assets does not stop at North Korea. In his testimony, the senator claimed that "more than 40,000 people in the United States lost more than $3.5 billion in 'pig butchering' crypto scams we know only last year.
The "pig destroying" scam, which is common in crypto fraud cases, involves perpetrators exploiting the victim's trust to increase the amount of funds the victim will send them.
Warren stressed that "pig vouching is just one type of scam. [In addition,] there are many more. Recent studies have found that these criminal gangs have stolen and laundered more than $75 billion in crypto in just the last four years."
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Urges To Pass The Anti Money Laundering Law
In addition, Senator Elizabeth Warren also used the hearing to push for the ratification of a bipartisan bill known as the Digital Assets Anti-Money Laundering Act (DAAMLA). The bill aims to close gaps in anti-terrorism funding as well as implement stricter regulations on key players in the digital asset industry.
"I have a bipartisan bill, backed by Republicans and Democrats, with 20 senators stopping this," he said. "I think it's time to pass this bill."
The senator's comments come amid growing conversations about crypto asset regulation following a terrorist attack last October in Israel by Hamas and killing more than 1200 Israelis.
Along with Senator Elizabeth Warren's criticism of crypto assets and his push for stronger oversight, he faces tough challenges in the upcoming Senate election: pro-crypto Republican candidate John Deaton.
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