#aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,h4   
,r4 #gcch  ,,an ,,act  ,to require      
congressional notification prior to     
payments of ,department of ,state       
rewards using cryptocurrencies1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,russia        
,cryptocurrency ,transparency ,act4  #b4
 ,findings ,congress finds the          
following3  7#a7 ,on ,february #bd1     
#bjbb1 the ,government of the ,russian  
,federation1 led by ,vladimir ,putin1   
launched an unprovoked1 full-scale      
invasion of ,ukraine4  7#b7 ,this       
unprovoked act of aggression violates   
,ukraine's right to independence1       
sovereignty1 and territorial integrity1 
and constitutes an emergency in         
international relations4  7#c7 ,the     
invasion by the ,government of the      
,russian ,federation of ,ukraine caused 
significant displacement in ,ukraine and
 triggered a broader humanitarian crisis
 in ,europe4  7#d7 ,on ,march #bc1      
#bjbb1 the ,department of ,state        

released a statement assessing that the 
,russian ,armed ,forces committed war   
crimes by launching indiscriminate      
attacks on civilians and non-military   
infrastructure1 including apartment     
buildings1 schools1 and hospitals1      
leaving thousands of innocent civilians 
killed or wounded4  7#e7 ,the ,united   
,nations ,office for ,coordination of   
,humanitarian ,affairs has projected    
that1 over the next three months1       
#ab1jjj1jjj people living in ,ukraine   
will need humanitarian assistance1      
#f1gjj1jjj people will be internally    
displaced1 and #d1jjj1jjj people will   
flee ,ukraine4  7#f7 ,rapid humanitarian
 assistance is necessary #f across      
sectors to address the needs of refugees
 and internally displaced persons from  
,ukraine4  7#g7 ,cryptocurrency has been
 used as an effective cross-border      
payment tool to send millions to the    
,ukrainian ,government1 ,ukrainian army1
 and ,ukrainian refugees with limited   
access to financial services4  7#h7 ,in 

response to the war of aggression by the
 ,government of the ,russian            
,federation1 the ,united ,states has    
imposed an array of sanctions1 cutting  
off major ,russian financial            
institutions from ,western markets and  
freezing the assets of numerous ,russian
 oligarchs4  7#i7 ,given that regimes   
sanctioned by the ,united ,states have  
used cryptocurrencies to evade          
sanctions1 there are increasing concerns
 that these digital assets may be used  
to circumvent the sanctions now imposed 
on ,russia and ,belarus by the ,united  
,states and other foreign countries4    
#c4 ,congressional notifications for    
,state ,department cryptocurrency       
rewards  7a7 ,congressional notification
 ,subsection 7e7 of section #cf of the  
,state ,department ,basic ,authorities  
,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bgjh7 is  
amended by adding at the end the        
following new paragraph3  7#g7 ,the     
,secretary of ,state shall notify the   
appropriate congressional committees not

 later than #ae days before paying out a
 reward in cryptocurrency4  4  7b7      
,report ,not later than #ahj days after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to
 the appropriate congressional          
committees a report on the use of       
cryptocurrency as a part of the         
,department of ,state ,rewards program  
that--  7#a7 explains why the           
,department of ,state made the          
determination to pay out rewards in     
cryptocurrency2  7#b7 lists each        
cryptocurrency payment already provided 
by the ,state ,department2  7#c7        
provides evidence as to why             
cryptocurrency payments would be more   
likely to induce whistleblowers to come 
forward with information than rewards   
paid out in ,united ,states dollars or  
other prizes2  7#d7 analyzes how the    
,state ,department's use of             
cryptocurrency could undermine the      
dollar's status as the global reserve   
currency2 and  7#e7 examines if the     

,state ,department's use of             
cryptocurrency could provide bad actors 
with additional hard-to-trace funds that
 could be used for criminal or illicit  
purposes4  7c7 ,appropriate ,committees 
of ,congress ,defined ,in this section1 
the term appropriate committees of      
,congress means--  7#a7 the ,committee  
on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of   
,representatives2  7#b7 the ,committee  
on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4  
#d4 ,report on blockchain usage for     
,ukranian humanitarian needs  7a7 ,in   
,general ,not later than #cj days after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,state1 in            
coordination with the ,secretary of the 
,treasury and the ,administrator of the 
,united ,states ,agency for             
,international ,development1 shall      
submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the most         
effective avenues to promote economic   
development and provide humanitarian aid
 to ,ukraine1 including possible uses of

 cryptocurrencies or other technologies 
incorporating blockchains4 ,such report 
shall-- 7#a7 review and analyze the     
advantages offered by cross-border      
transactions involving digital assets   
relative to other traditional avenues   
for cross-border humanitarian relief    
payments and the reasons for those      
advantages1 including structural        
barriers which may impact the cost1     
efficiency1 and reliability of          
traditional payment channels2 and  7#b7 
also review and analyze ways in which   
technologies incorporating blockchains  
can-- 7,a7 assist in the care1 support1 
or resettlement of refugees and         
internally displaced persons from       
,ukraine2  7,b7 address humanitarian    
access challenges and ensure the        
effective delivery of such assistance to
 persons from ,ukraine2  7,c7 increase  
efficiency1 accountability1 and         
transparency in the administration of   
humanitarian aid provided by the ,united
 ,states to persons from ,ukraine2  7,d7

 prevent corruption through the use of  
web#c technologies2  7,e7 improve access
 to capital2 and  7,f7 bolster the      
efficiency and reliability of           
cross-border remittances4  7b7 ,form    
,the report required under subsection   
7a7 shall be submitted in unclassified  
form and may include a classified annex4
  7c7 ,appropriate congressional        
committees defined ,in this section1 the
 term appropriate congressional         
committees means-- 7#a7 the ,committee  
on ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee 
on ,financial ,services of the ,house of
 ,representatives2 and  7#b7 the        
,committee on ,foreign ,relations and   
the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1   
and ,urban ,affairs of the ,senate4  #e4
 ,effectiveness and enforcement of      
sanctions  7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it  
is the sense of ,congress that--  7#a7  
on ,march #i1 #bjbb1 ,president ,biden  
issued an ,executive ,order outlining a 
national policy to mitigate the risks1  
and harness the potential benefits of1  

digital assets and distributed ledger   
technology2  7#b7 the growing           
development and adoption of digital     
assets have created an urgent need for  
the ,united ,states to play a leading   
role in the global financial system and 
facilitate technological innovation2    
7#c7 these developments have had        
significant implications that pose risks
 to the financial stability and national
 security interest of the ,united       
,states1 including issues relating to   
privacy and surveillance2  7#a7 the     
,united ,states ,government must--  7,a7
 ensure the efficacy and enforcement of 
the ,united ,states' sanctions regime by
 preventing the misuse of digital       
assets1 which can facilitate            
transactions by ,russian persons subject
 to sanctions2  7,b7 mitigate national  
security liabilities and systemic       
financial risks posed by the misuse of  
digital assets by developing policy     
recommendations and addressing existing 
regulatory gaps2 and  7,c7 maintain     

technological leadership to promote     
,united ,states global competitiveness  
and play a leading role in the global   
governance of digital assets4  7b7      
,report  7#a7 ,in general ,not later    
than #ahj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of the ,treasury1 in consultation with  
the ,secretary of ,state1 shall submit a
 report to the appropriate congressional
 committees that provides an assessment 
on how digital currencies affect the    
effectiveness and enforcement of ,united
 ,states sanctions against the ,russian 
,federation and actors subject to       
sanctions related to the ,russian       
,federation's invasion of ,ukraine4     
7#b7 ,matters to be included ,the report
 under paragraph 7#a7 shall-- 7,a7      
describe any efforts by the ,russian    
,federation or persons subject to       
sanctions related to the ,russian       
,federation's invasion of ,ukraine to   
utilize digital assets to evade the     
sanctions regimes of the ,united ,states

 and its international allies and       
partners2  7,b7 describe any efforts by 
persons subject to sanctions related to 
the ,russian ,federation's invasion of  
,ukraine to use decentralized finance   
technology or other similar technology  
to effect transactions1 including       
digital wallets1 digital asset trading  
platforms1 and digital asset exchanges2 
7,c7 assess how the use or adoption of  
digital currencies could undermine the  
national security interests of the      
,united ,states and impact the efficacy 
and enforcement of sanctions1 1 and the 
enforcement of anti-money laundering    
provisions2  7,d7 detail actions taken  
by the ,united ,states government to    
work with private sector actors to      
combat the evasion of sanctions imposed 
by the ,united ,states2 and  7,e7       
include recommendations for new         
legislative and regulatory measures     
needed to strengthen the ,united ,states
 ,government's ability to prevent any   
states1 state-sponsored actors1 and     

non-state-sponsored actors from using   
digital currencies to evade sanctions   
imposed by the ,united ,states          
,government4  7c7 ,appropriate          
committees of congress defined ,in this 
section1 the term appropriate committees
 of ,congress means-- 7#a7 the          
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the  
,house of ,representatives2  7#b7 the   
,committee on ,financial ,services of   
the ,house of ,representatives2  7#c7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of
 the ,senate2 and  7#d7 the ,committee  
on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban       
,affairs of the ,senate4  7d7 ,report   
,form ,the report required under        
subsection 7b7 shall be submitted in    
unclassified form with a classified     
annex1 if necessary4  ,passed the ,house
 of ,representatives ,september #bj1    
#bjbb4;,clerk4