II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2609 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 31, 2025 Mr. Budd (for himself, Ms. Lummis , and Mrs. Gillibrand ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To establish an Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Financial Technology Protection Act of 2025 . 2. Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing (a) Establishment There is established the Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing (in this section referred to as the Working Group ), which shall consist of the following: (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, who shall serve as the chair of the Working Group. (2) A senior-level representative from each of the following: (A) The Department of the Treasury. (B) The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. (C) The Internal Revenue Service. (D) The Department of Justice. (E) The Federal Bureau of Investigation. (F) The Drug Enforcement Administration. (G) The Department of Homeland Security. (H) The United States Secret Service. (I) The Department of State. (J) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence. (3) At least five individuals appointed by the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes to represent the following: (A) Financial technology companies. (B) Blockchain intelligence companies. (C) Financial institutions. (D) Institutions or organizations engaged in research. (E) Institutions or organizations focused on individual privacy and civil liberties. (4) Such additional individuals as the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint as necessary to accomplish the duties described under subsection (b). (b) Duties The Working Group shall— (1) conduct research on terrorist and illicit use of digital assets and other related emerging technologies; and (2) develop legislative and regulatory proposals to improve anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist, and other counter-illicit financing efforts in the United States. (c) Reports (1) In general Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually for the 3 years thereafter, the Working Group shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury, the heads of each agency represented in the Working Group pursuant to subsection (a)(2), and the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the findings and determinations made by the Working Group in the previous year and any legislative and regulatory proposals developed by the Working Group. (2) Final report Before the date on which the Working Group terminates under subsection (d)(1), the Working Group shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final report detailing the findings, recommendations, and activities of the Working Group, including any final results from the research conducted by the Working Group. (d) Sunset (1) In general The Working Group shall terminate on the later of— (A) the date that is 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act; or (B) the date on which the Working Group completes any wind-up activities described under paragraph (2). (2) Authority to wind up activities If there are ongoing research, proposals, or other related activities of the Working Group ongoing as of the date that is 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Working Group may temporarily continue working in order to wind-up such activities. (3) Return of appropriated funds On the date on which the Working Group terminates under paragraph (1), any unobligated funds appropriated to carry out this section shall be transferred to the Treasury. 3. Preventing rogue and foreign actors from evading sanctions (a) Report and strategy with respect to digital assets and other related emerging technologies (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Secretary of the Treasury and in consultation with the head of each agency represented on the Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing pursuant to section 2(a)(2), shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes— (A) the potential uses of digital assets and other related emerging technologies by states, non-state actors, foreign terrorist organizations, and other terrorist groups to evade sanctions, finance terrorism, or launder monetary instruments, and threaten the national security of the United States; and (B) a strategy for the United States to mitigate and prevent the illicit use of digital assets and other related emerging technologies. (2) Form of report; public availability (A) In general The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. (B) Public availability The unclassified portion of each report required by paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public and posted on a publicly accessible website of the Department of the Treasury— (i) in precompressed, easily downloadable versions, in all appropriate formats; and (ii) in machine-readable format, if applicable. (3) Sources of information In preparing the reports required by paragraph (1), the President may utilize any credible publication, database, or web-based resource, and any credible information compiled by any government agency, nongovernmental organization, or other entity that is made available to the President. (b) Briefing Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the implementation of the strategy required by subsection (a)(1)(B). 4. Definitions In this Act: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. (2) Blockchain intelligence company The term blockchain intelligence company means any business providing software, research, or other services (such as blockchain tracing tools, geofencing, transaction screening, the collection of business data, and sanctions screening) that— (A) support private and public sector investigations and risk management activities; and (B) involve cryptographically secured distributed ledgers or any similar technology or implementation. (3) Digital asset The term digital asset means any digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured digital ledger or any similar technology. (4) Emerging technologies The term emerging technologies means the critical and emerging technology areas listed in the Critical and Emerging Technologies List developed by the Fast Track Action Subcommittee on Critical and Emerging Technologies of the National Science and Technology Council, including any updates to such list. (5) Foreign terrorist organization The term foreign terrorist organization means an organization that is designated as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189 ). (6) Illicit use The term illicit use includes fraud, darknet marketplace transactions, money laundering, the purchase and sale of illicit goods, sanctions evasion, theft of funds, funding of illegal activities, transactions related to child sexual abuse material, and any other financial transaction involving the proceeds of specified unlawful activity (as defined in section 1956(c) of title 18, United States Code). (7) Terrorist The term terrorist includes a person carrying out domestic terrorism or international terrorism (as such terms are defined, respectively, under section 2331 of title 18, United States Code).