U.S. Treasury Recognizes Legitimate Uses for Crypto Mixers, Proposes “Hold Law” for Suspicious Assets

The U.S. Treasury Department submitted a report to Congress under the GENIUS Act, recognizing that crypto mixers can serve legitimate financial privacy purposes for lawful users, marking a shift from previous restrictive stances like sanctioning Tornado Cash. However, the report also noted that criminal actors, particularly those linked to North Korea, continue to exploit mixers to obscure billions in stolen digital assets. To combat illicit finance, Treasury proposed new legislative tools, including a "hold law" that would grant financial institutions temporary safe harbor to freeze suspicious digital assets during brief investigations. Furthermore, the report suggests clarifying AML/CFT obligations for DeFi actors and expanding the USA PATRIOT Act to allow Treasury to impose conditions on certain digital asset transfers.

(Source：Bitcoin Magazine)