Why sheriffs, prosecutors and pastors oppose this crypto bill

The Bible warns that societies are judged not merely by their wealth or power, but by how they protect the vulnerable.

Repeatedly, Scripture condemns systems that enrich the powerful while leaving the innocent exposed to exploitation. “Woe to those,” the prophet Isaiah wrote, “who make unjust laws.” Jesus Himself reserved some of His harshest words for those who harmed children and preyed upon the weak.

That moral responsibility should guide Congress as it debates the future of cryptocurrency and digital asset regulation.

There is no question that digital assets and blockchain technologies carry enormous promise and will help America remain the global leader in financial innovation. Emerging technologies expand economic opportunity, modernize outdated systems, and help preserve American competitiveness.

Christians should not fear innovation. 

But innovation without accountability eventually becomes dangerous, especially when legal loopholes are exploited faster than governments can close them.

That is precisely why many law enforcement organizations, advocates, and faith leaders are raising concerns about portions of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before Congress.

The concern is whether Congress is creating regulatory carveouts that traffickers, cartels, ransomware networks, online predators, and transnational criminal organizations could use to hide money and evade accountability.

The National Sheriffs’ Association recently warned that the legislation could exempt mixers, tumblers, and decentralized finance platforms from key anti-money laundering regulations, weakening law enforcement’s ability to trace illicit transactions and recover funds. 

The National District Attorneys Association warned that Section 604 could “severely impede” prosecutors’ ability to pursue criminal activity involving digital assets, including drug cartels, ransomware groups, and child exploitation networks that increasingly rely on cryptocurrency’s anonymity

The National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys raised similar alarms, warning of “dangerous limitations” on enforcement authorities used to combat human trafficking, fentanyl distribution, terrorist financing, and sanction evasions. 

These are not fringe voices hostile to innovation. They’re people who protect our communities.

And the victims are not theoretical.

They are children exploited online. Families devastated by scams. Communities ravaged by fentanyl. Vulnerable migrants targeted by transnational criminals. Women and children trapped in trafficking networks.

As a pastor, I cannot separate this debate from the moral realities it touches.

Human trafficking is not merely a law enforcement issue. It is a direct assault on the image of God in another human being.

The Christian tradition teaches that the government has a role in restraining evil and protecting the innocent. 

Some advocates portray any effort to strengthen oversight as “anti-crypto” or “anti-free markets.” But America has never functioned on the belief that markets should exist without rules or accountability.

We require safeguards in banking because financial systems can be exploited by criminals. We regulate commerce because economic freedom untethered from moral responsibility eventually harms the common good.

Digital assets should not receive a special exemption from principles that govern other parts of the economy.

In fact, responsible guardrails are what allow innovation to flourish sustainably.

Markets thrive when people believe systems are transparent, accountable, and governed by the rule of law. Innovation becomes stronger when bad actors cannot weaponize new technologies against the vulnerable.

Congress can get this right by supporting responsible digital asset innovation while strengthening anti-money laundering protections, preserving investigative tools for law enforcement, and ensuring that decentralized finance systems do not become safe havens for criminal enterprises.

America does not have to choose between technological progress and protecting vulnerable people from exploitation. We are strongest when both exist.

And as Christians, we should never accept a vision of innovation that leaves the vulnerable behind in the name of speed, profit, or ideological purity.