by Rushali 
On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that cryptocurrency used for illegal purposes is a growing problem. She was speaking at a financial sector innovation policy roundtable and said that crimes related to digital currency and cyberattacks are on rising these days.
In her opening statement, she said she sees the potential future of cryptocurrencies but she also sees the payments given to drug traffickers through cryptocurrency.
She referenced the Anti-Money Laundering Act passed into law by Congress last December, a part of the National Defense Authorization Act that requires the U.S. government to update its anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.
She also believes that the laws to stop this illicit activity need an update. The laws are made in the 1970s and didn’t change till now. This time is the best time for the update.
This is the third time in these 2 months that Yellen has spoken about this topic. During her confirmation speech in Jan, she said that the use of cryptocurrency in terrorist activity is a growing concern. Later she said that cryptocurrency will be beneficial for the financial future.
1 week ago the United Nations (UN) published a report saying cryptocurrencies have been used to finance ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Earlier U.S. Department of Justice has said that they destroyed three separate campaigns that financed ISIS and AL-Qaeda through cryptocurrencies.
Federal law enforcement officials are also investigating that cryptocurrency is used in terrorist activity or not.
Yellen also said that the treasury department with the regulatory agencies will work more efficiently.
