This week, Senator Elizabeth Warren urged for more regulation of the cryptocurrency sector in light of recent evidence that digital currencies is being used to finance the fentanyl trade in China.
During a hearing on Wednesday at the Senate Banking Committee, Warren brought up the use of cryptocurrency by Chinese firms that make and distribute fentanyl.
90% of Chinese suppliers of fentanyl, according to researchers from the blockchain analytics company, accepted cryptocurrency payments.
According to a study, $27 million in payments have already been made to these companies’ cryptocurrency wallets, which could be used to create up to $54 billion worth of fentanyl tablets on the black market.
According to Warren, that much fentanyl could kill over 9 billion people and be entirely covered by cryptocurrency.
As the US struggles with an opioid problem, with overdose fatalities setting a new high in 2022, Warren is calling for stricter controls. Most of those, which account for the majority of the drug overdose deaths in 2021, are thought to have contained fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.
As the US struggles with an opioid problem, with overdose fatalities setting a new high in 2022, Warren is calling for stricter controls. Most of those, which account for the majority of the drug overdose deaths in 2021, are thought to have contained fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.
Warren, a longtime opponent of the crypto industry, has pushed for tighter regulation of the sector as the role of digital currency in criminal activity becomes more and more clear. According to a report, the amount of illicit cryptocurrency transactions reached a new high of $20.1 billion in last year.
