A counter-terrorism rewards program organized by the Secretary of State, The Rewards for Justice Program, offers incentives in exchange for information that averts international terrorism.
The bill amendment requires the Secretary of State to report to the Congregational committees explaining why the State Department decided to pay rewards in cryptocurrency.
This amendment has caused Congress to call attention to the evasion of sanctions. They referenced Russia and Belarus as previously sanctioned regimes that have used cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions.
The Congress emphasized the United Nations’ findings that 12 million Ukrainian residents would need humanitarian support. They stated that using cryptocurrencies as a cross-border payment tool to send millions to the Ukrainian Government, the Ukrainian army, and Ukrainian refugees with limited access to financial services would be effective.
If the bill metamorphoses to law, it will require the State Department to list every crypto payment previously provided. The federal department will also be required to prove why cryptocurrency payments would encourage informants to share intel compared to rewarding with U.S. dollars or other prizes.
When making its propositions, the State Department must analyze how crypto rewards could weaken the USD dominance as the global reserve currency.
After President Joe Biden’s executive order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, federal agencies helped publish a fact sheet to compose a clear framework for responsible digital asset development.
Some of the bill’s sections don’t contain any particularly new information. In addition to encouraging the implementation of instant payment systems such as FedNow, that likely to launch in 2023, federal agencies recommend creating a federal framework for non-bank payment providers.