Circle has refuted allegations linking it to terrorist funding and denies affiliation with crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun or his associated companies, including Tron (TRX) and HTX (formerly Huobi).
In a letter addressed to Senators Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy, Dante Disparte, stated that the Campaign for Accountability’s (CfA) claims that the stablecoin company’s USDC was involved in crypto terror financing were “replete with errors, omissions, and misleading information.”
Distances self from Sun
Circle explicitly stated that it does not bank Sun and his companies, including HTX and Tron Foundation.
The USDC stablecoin issuer clarified that it had terminated all accounts associated with Sun as far back as February despite the U.S. government’s lack of specific designation for them.
Circle’s stance follows recent reports that the Tron blockchain was increasingly being used to finance terrorist activities and organizations.
However, Sun defended the blockchain saying it has a similar decentralized structure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. He added that the network was “committed to combating terrorist financing by integrating various analysis projects and partners .”
Touts regulatory compliance
Circle further argued that it does not support or finance illicit actors like Hamas, directly or indirectly, and highlighted its compliance with the necessary financial laws.
“Circle is subject to multiple regulatory regimes – including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and applicable laws focused on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism – and has forcefully advocated for a comprehensive federal prudential regulatory regime in the United States,” Disparte wrote.
Disparte pointed out the firm’s efforts to combat illicit finance by collaborating with regulators in various countries, including the U.S. and Israel, to prevent any unlawful use of its stablecoin.
Disparte noted that Circle has also led efforts for a comprehensive federal framework to govern stablecoins. He added:
“Circle has consistently called for federal prudential regulation of stablecoins to ensure that every issuer must meet the highest reserving, redemption, disclosure, liquidity, and operational risk management standards”
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