U.S. Treasury Department: Most digital assets used for legitimate purposes, more sanctions to be imposed on illegal ransomware enterprises

Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, stated that the Treasury may impose more sanctions on illegal businesses involved in ransomware payments. However, he emphasized that "the vast majority of digital assets are used for legitimate purposes."

Yellen spoke at an online seminar hosted by the New American Security Center with former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Paula Dobriansky, pointing out that when criminals threaten national security interests, the government may impose sanctions, especially targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and mixers as potential targets for online criminal activities.

Yellen stated that the vast majority of digital assets are used for legitimate purposes, but for those primarily involved in criminal activities, "we plan to use our tools to track them down."

Yellen added that any investigation into illegal crypto sanctions will involve cooperation with the FBI, intelligence community, and other agencies.

He previously stated in a report on October 18 that sanctions are a fundamentally important tool for promoting national security interests, and Treasury sanctions reviews indicate that this powerful tool continues to yield results, but also faces new challenges. "We are committed to working with partners and allies to modernize and strengthen this critical tool," while balancing the interests of legitimate humanitarian organizations.

This article is authorized to be reprinted from Horizon News Network