Treasury’s Wally Adeyemo: My agency needs more power to regulate crypto 

Digital asset firms face potential new regulatory landscape under Treasury’s proposed authority expansion

article-image

US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo | Artwork by Crystal Le

share

US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo has a message for digital asset firms: Get in line, or end up like Binance. 

“I hoped the digital asset industry would take up this call to partner with government, design new tools and pursue new ways to protect digital assets from being abused,” Adeyemo said at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit in Washington DC Wednesday. 

While many digital asset firms have taken steps toward compliance, others have failed to act. According to Adeyemo, this “represents a clear and present danger for national security.” 

The Treasury Department sent a legislative proposal to Congress on Tuesday asking for additional authority to oversee the crypto space, including allowing it to step outside of the United States. 

Read more: From SBF to Binance: Biggest court cases of 2023

Treasury officials have asked Congress to expand the International Emergency Powers Act to explicitly allow the agency to “designate blockchain nodes or other elements of cryptocurrency transactions,” according to a copy of the proposal obtained by Blockworks. 

Some industry members argue that given the Treasury’s apparent success thus far in sanctioning exchanges, mixing services and other actors, granting the agency greater authority is unnecessary. 

The rules cannot always keep up with the technology, Adeyemo said in response to the criticism. 

“The thing that I learned most from being at Treasury during the financial crisis is that innovation outpaced regulation,” he added. “Our goal is to make sure that we have the flexibility.” 

Read more: Treasury urges crypto companies to ‘prevent’ terrorist financing

Adeyemo’s remarks came hours after his office announced sanctions against cryptocurrency mixing service Sinbad for allegedly facilitating North Korea state-sponsored hacking group Lazarus’ money laundering. 

For illicit actors, the digital asset ecosystem is the “prefered” method of moving assets, as opposed to the traditional financial system, Adeyemo said. 

“My message is simple: We will find you and hold you accountable,” he said to the digital asset industry and those enabling or facilitating illicit actions.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

A memecoin short squeeze pushed Hyperliquid to the brink — and revealed decentralization limits

article-image

Tools for Humanity’s Developer Reward pilot program kicks off on April 1

article-image

Blockworks Research analyst Boccaccio explains the HyperLiquid controversy and why they need to adjust risk and margin

article-image

What Grayscale’s watching going into the second quarter and why crypto had a rough start to the year

article-image

Sol’s price drop was partially triggered by one of the year’s more chaotic memecoin events

article-image

Are digital assets just part of “normal” finance conversations now?