Crypto funds China’s fentanyl trade: Senator Elizabeth Warren

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Crypto funds companies in China that supply fentanyl, Senator Elizabeth Warren has warned. Digital currencies could fund $540 billion worth of fentanyl pills on the market, according to data from Elliptic. It comes as the United States battles an opioid crisis, with fentanyl seeing a record number of overdose deaths in 2022. LoadingSomething is loading.

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Senator Elizabeth Warren this week called for greater regulation of the cryptocurrency market as a recent report shows digital currencies are being used to fund the fentanyl trade in China.

During a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Warren highlighted the use of crypto by Chinese companies that produce and sell fentanyl, citing statistics from a recent Elliptic report.

Researchers at the blockchain analytics firm found that 90% of Chinese companies that supply fentanyl accept cryptocurrency payments.

Crypto wallets owned by these companies have already received $27 million in payouts, an amount that could potentially be used to supply up to $54 billion worth of fentanyl pills in market value, according to Elliptic’s analysis.

“That’s enough fentanyl to kill nearly 9 billion people, all paid for by crypto,” Warren said.

Warren’s calls for tougher controls come as the United States battles an opioid crisis, with overdose deaths hitting a new high in 2022, according to the Center for Disease Control. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, is believed to have been involved in most of them, accounting for most overdose deaths drugs in 2021.

Warren, a longtime critic of the crypto industry, has also pushed for more regulation for digital currencies as their role in criminal activity becomes clearer. Illicit crypto transaction volumes hit a new all-time high of $20.1 billion last year according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

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