The U.S. believes that emerging cross-border payment systems and alternative currencies, despite their growth, still don't pose a big threat to its attempts to stop adversaries like Iran, North Korea, and Russia from obtaining weapons and related technology. This emerges amid heightened concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and increased Western efforts to restrain Moscow's access to military supplies.
Proliferation financing focuses on disrupting the financial channels used by countries of concern to acquire chemical, biological weapons, or sophisticated military equipment. The US Treasury Department, in its annual assessment, addresses the "potential risks" from new payment systems, as some nations seek to bypass US sanctions and jurisdiction.
