April 25, 2018
Congress should kickstart the response to virtual currencies
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are no longer just a technological novelty or a speculative bubble. They are affecting U.S. national security. To face their potential threat, Congress should organize an expert task force on virtual currencies and require the executive branch to formulate a national virtual currency strategy.
Recently, the national security implications of virtual currencies have come to the fore. Last month, President Trump prohibited use of the new Venezuelan virtual currency known as “el petro” aimed at evading U.S. sanctions. Then, a report revealed that Russia has advised Caracas on the currency, suggesting a concerted sanctions evasion scheme involving a primary U.S. competitor. During the same week, the city of Atlanta suffered a ransomware attack where the perpetrators took over the city’s computers and demanded a ransom in bitcoin.
These developments point to how concrete the threat of virtual currencies is. Yet, the U.S. government lacks a centralized source of knowledge on the threat or a whole-of-government strategy to counter it. Congress should lead on both.
Read the full article at The Hill
More from CNAS
-
Implications for Partners of the AI Diffusion Framework with Emily Kilcrease
Podcast
Francesca Ghiretti talks with Emily Kilcrease senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and c...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
America First Trade Policy and Trump's First 100 Days
Podcast
Emily and Geoff dive in on the unfinished business Trump is inheriting and unpack what we learned from the America First Trade Policy executive memo. Plus we share a few thoug...
By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz
-
Sharper: Trump's First 100 Days
Commentary
Donald Trump takes office in a complex and volatile global environment. Rising tensions with China, the continued war in Ukraine, and instability in the Middle East all pose s...
By Charles Horn
-
Ziemba: Trump to Rely on Gulf Partners to Diffuse Tension
Video
After 15 months of fighting, ceasefire has taken effect between Israel and Hamas, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Rachel Ziemba, Founder of Ziemba Insigh...
By Rachel Ziemba
