Juan Vargas: “I thank the chairwoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 502, the Fight…”

“I thank the chairwoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 502, the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act, or, as you heard, the FIND Trafficking Act. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry for their support and their guidance of this legislation. I also especially thank my colleague, Representative Wagner, for her leadership on this issue and for agreeing to co-lead this commonsense, narrowly tailored legislation. I thank her for her guidance and her leadership. As you may know, a virtual currency is a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded. Since the creation of bitcoin, the first and most widely known example of a cryptocurrency, thousands of cryptocurrencies have emerged that are designed to serve a variety of purposes. Some forms of virtual currency provide a digital alternative to cash that lacks the oversight of a government or a central bank, and, potentially, offers greater anonymity than conventional payment systems. Just as virtual currencies have grown in use in legitimate commerce, as we heard from the ranking member, they have also, unfortunately, become an increasingly popular financial payment method for criminals. Virtual currencies have been, and continue to be, exploited to pay for goods and services associated with illicit sex and drug trafficking. These are two of the most detrimental and troubling illegal activities sold online.…”