There’s “no reason why” crypto should exist

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Another crypto-skeptical US senator is on the loose, with Democrat Jon Tester boldly declaring that he sees no reason why crypto should exist.

Tester is the senior senator from Montana and has served there since 2007. He also sits on the Senate Banking Committee, which is one of the key players involved in the ongoing debate over US crypto regulation.

During a Dec. 11 appearance on NBC Meet the Press, Tester argued that since crypto has no real value, the industry should not be regulated, as that would give it legitimacy.

It was not able to pass the smell test for me. I couldn’t find anyone who could explain to me what else there is than synthetics […] which means nothing, he said, adding that:

The problem is that if we regulate it, and I pointed this out to some of the regulators here a week or two ago, if we regulate it, it can give people the ability to think it’s real.

In line with such thinking, Tester then stated that he saw no reason why this stuff should exist.

The crypto community has been quick to criticize the senator’s anti-crypto remarks and self-confessed lack of crypto knowledge, with user @BS0064 saying it’s always good to see people who don’t have any idea what they’re talking about to express really strong opinions on the matter.

Furthermore, @blocknonprofit argued that it is real to imagine that all of these cryptos are just tech stocks not traded on the traditional exchanges used today.

The testers’ most recent comments come just weeks after he told media startup Semafor that the industry was all bullshit and he couldn’t figure out what was supporting it.

The December 1 Semafors article was also littered with negative crypto stances from a group of Democratic senators, with crypto hater Elizabeth Warren pointing out: Finally, there are more people whistling bullshit.

Bernie Sanders was at least more diplomatic, stating that he was not a huge fan of crypto.

Related: Senate Banking Committee Democrats warn SoFi to meet its compliance deadline

Commenting on the article via Twitter, Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann suggested that since the FTX debacle, the Dems suddenly feel free to speak their minds about the crypto industry.

After FTX, it seems Dems suddenly feel free to speak their minds about the crypto industry.

Jon Tester told our reporter yesterday that he thought the whole thing was “bullshit”. Warren, Brown and Sanders also had words. https://t.co/LzbCM9SkJD

Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) December 1, 2022

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