U.S Congressman Sends Alert On Cryptocurrency Industry Following Democratic Hacking Scandal
The recent charges of 12 Russian intelligence officers by the team of Special Counsel Robert Muller has been the main topic of discussion.
The officers are indicted with hacking the computer networks of some staffers on the Hillary Clinton campaign, people involved with the Democratic National Committee, and people involved with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein noted President Donald Trump was up-to-date on the charges. President Trump is set to meet with President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Helsinki, Finland.
It is claimed that the 12 collaborated to release data under the names “DCLeaks” and “Guccifer 2.0”. Yet Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein cited to reports how it was uncertain if their efforts indeed influenced the election’s result.
The hackers decided to purchase Bitcoin to remain unrecognized. They used the digital currency to purchase things such as servers in an effort to hide their tracks. Furthermore, accusations of money-laundering are also made since their lot was discovered.
This caught the attention of a U.S. Congressman who went on Twitter to show his concern.
As well as a tweet by Daily Beast reporter Besty Woodruff, Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) alerted the cryptocurrency industry to “step up their game” as “we know Russia used #cryptocurrency to fund their meddling campaign in 2016.”
In the Tweet, Representative Cleaver cited the Bitcoin Foundation, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and the account for blockchain.com.
In the past, Representative Cleaver has talked about cryptocurrency. He sent letters to the Bitcoin Foundation and the Chamber of Digital Commerce on February 8th this year, urging both entities to “do more in efforts to prevent extremist groups from using cryptocurrency to fund campaigns of hate and violence.”
In a press release, Representative Cleaver stated how cryptocurrency has the possibility to be dominant in finance, yet added that people must be alert in ensuring the technology could not be used to assist “groups that wage campaigns of hate, abuse, anti-Semitism, discrimination, or violence.”
Representative Cleaver precisely noted “hateful or violent extremist” have begun to change cryptocurrencies and stated how he was willing to partner with the Bitcoin Foundation and the Chamber for Digital Commerce to “eliminate bigoted organizations from fundraising on their platforms.”
The Bitcoin Foundation’s Executive Director, Llew Classen, responded to Representative Cleaver’s letter on May 1st. In the letter, Classen noted how Bitcoin “is used for many legitimate purposes” and mentioned how major companies such as Overstock and Expedia were receiving cryptocurrencies as payment.
Furthermore, Classes noted how the Foundation has “no knowledge” of how “successful” malicious groups have been in using cryptocurrency to fundraise compared to traditional methods. They noted “this kind of research” is not part of their mission.
