US legislature wants the Department of State to disclose crypto payouts

The United States government has been taking a keener interest in cryptocurrency activity, and the lawmakers now have a fresh proposal on the table. This time, the US legislature has suggested that the Department of State share information about crypto payouts and rewards.

Lawmakers seek to amend this proposal into the State Department Basic Authorities Act, which was created in 1956. The proposed amendment would apply to the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA. This is a set of federal laws used to establish the annual expenditures and budget for the United States Department of Defense. Per this proposal, the State Department must disclose information about crypto payments within 15 days of the transaction.

The official document released Wednesday listed additional requirements for reporting crypto payouts. Within 180 days of the activity, the State Department must report the transaction to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (the House of Representatives) and the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations. The State Department is also responsible for justifying crypto as the selected payment method in these transactions.

An experimental aspect of this proposed legislation is determining if crypto payouts can prompt more whistleblowers to come forward compared to traditional financial rewards. This is the ultimate motive behind the proposal: protecting whistleblowers from “bad actors.” The document also stated that the government would investigate if crypto provided these bad actors with funds that could be used for criminal purposes and prove difficult to trace.

One part of this amendment is designed to increase transparency on government spending. The other is intended to provide insight into cryptocurrency potentially funding corrupt and illicit activity. This negative connotation surrounding digital assets has prompted many lawmakers to argue against the use of cryptocurrency.

As of now, this proposal has not been voted on by the US legislature. Ultimately, it is an act that would usher in a new form of defense spending. If approved, it would be signed into law by the president. While the payout disclosure is a proposed amendment, the NDAA is current and established United States law. Politicians frequently utilize this legislation to create new policy proposals.

As the government evaluates the increasing role of cryptocurrency in our financial systems, its conclusions could directly affect the progression of this disclosure amendment.