Campaign for Accountability Writes to US Senators About Circle’s Ties to Terrorism
The non-profit ethics watchdog Campaign for Accountability (CfA) has penned a letter to popular anti-crypto US senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown, informing them of possible links of Circle, the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin issuer, to terrorist financing activities.
Circle Compromised By Integration With TRON, CfA Says
In its letter dated November 9, CfA states that its recent discovery suggests additional concerns over the use of crypto for money laundering. This involves more than the issues raised by Warren and Brown alongside 100+ legislators in a recent letter to the National Security Advisor and Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The watchdog group begins by referencing recent law enforcement agencies’ reports which indicate that Circle could be directly or indirectly involved in dodgy activities due to its integration with TRON, an Asia-based network currently involved in multiple international lawsuits.
CfA Slams Regulation Agencies For Circle’s ‘Non-Accountability’
CfA attributed the suspected links of Circle with terrorism financing to a lack of oversight. The ethics group noted that, unlike most cryptocurrency firms such as BitGo, Coinbase, or Circle partners, namely Goldman Sachs, BNY, and BlackRock, the USDC issuer is not registered with any regulatory body in the United States.
CfA criticized the US State regulators and other regulators for allowing a company responsible for over $25 billion in cryptocurrency to operate for a decade without any oversight. The watchdog group believes that under the appropriate regulatory authority, Circle would have been prevented from issuing the USDC token on foreign “suspicious” networks such as TRON.
Hot Take
The Campaign for Accountability is raising serious concerns about possible links between Circle and terrorist financing. It believes that regulatory agencies have allowed Circle to operate without proper oversight and that this has potentially contributed to its association with suspicious activities involving TRON. The accusations are alarming given the prominence of companies like Goldman Sachs and BlackRock among Circle’s bankers and asset managers.
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