New bill wants travelers to declare bitcoin before entering US

In the interest of providing better border protection, lawmakers in the United States are pushing for a new Congressional bill that will put government eyes on travelers’ money, particularly digital currency.

The proposal in question was the US Bill S.1241, introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley and backed by a bi-partisan group of senators including Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Diane Feinstein and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

Cleverly titled as the “Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017,” the bill seeks to make changes at the border crossings and other types of entry ways to the United States to prevent visitors from bringing in undeclared assets into the country.

The bill directs the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop strategies and systems that will identify and “interdict” cryptocurrency assets owned by travelers entering the country. Under the bill, these undeclared assets would have to be blocked so they won’t enter the U.S., and the two agencies would be required to submit a report “no later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.”