US Senator Says He Sees “No Reason Why” Crypto Exists

[ad_1]

During a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Montana farmer and teacher turned U.S. Senator Jon Tester told host Chuck Todd that the cryptocurrency “hasn’t been able to pass the smell test for me”.

The Democratic senator, who serves on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, was invited to the program to discuss the defection of former Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema.

“You used colorful language to describe crypto,” Todd asked as the segment drew to a close. “Should the government regulate it or ban it?”

“One or the other,” Tester replied.

“I couldn’t find anyone who could explain to me what else is there besides synthetics, which means nothing,” he continued. “The problem is…if we regulate it, it can give people the ability to think it’s real.”

“I’m not a regulator and I’m not a financial person who regulates,” Tester denied, but concluded his thoughts on crypto by saying, “I don’t see any reason why this stuff should exist. I I really don’t.”

Although Tester claims he is not a regulator, his role on the Senate Banking Committee means he has influence on one of the key decision-making bodies currently debating how, if not of whether to regulate the currently beleaguered crypto industry.

“Senator Tester brings a rural perspective to this committee to make sure laws and policies work for small banks, credit unions, small businesses and consumers in rural America,” reads his website.

Senator Tester hasn’t been shy about speaking out about his distaste for crypto, telling Semafor last week, “That’s bullshit.”

In the wake of the US midterm elections, meanwhile, Democratic senators have coalesced on the banking committee’s agenda. According to a roll call report, party leaders were skeptical of the proposed Digital Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), which would make the CFTC, rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission or other agencies, the primary authority for US crypto regulation.

Also known as the Stabenow-Boozman bill, the move to empower the CFTC was notably backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, who has since become an international pariah as his exchange FTX and trading firm Alameda Research have collapsed dramatically.

2) I am optimistic that the Stabenow-Boozmans bill will ensure customer protection on centralized crypto exchanges without endangering the existence of software, blockchains, validators, DeFi, etc.

If I was convinced that I was wrong about that, I wouldn’t support it.

SBF (@SBF_FTX) October 19

According to Roll Call, Senator Tester cautioned against giving cryptocurrency additional legitimacy and objected to the fact that the Stabenow-Boozman bill was presented to the Senate Agriculture Committee. , Nutrition and Forestry, where Republican Senator from Arkansas John Boozman is a non-commissioned member.

“It has to be done in this committee, not [agriculture]so CFTC is a no,” Tester said.

In 2019, Sen. Tester was also a top critic of Libra, Facebook’s failed cryptocurrency initiative. At the time, he compared the threat of inadequate crypto controls to the 2008 financial crisis.

“In 2008 there was a run on the banks, there were a few big companies that went bankrupt, including 157 banks, Lehman Brothers, WAMU, Bear Sterns and others,” he told Reuters. era. “Nobody expected there would be a race like this, nobody.”

He wondered if Facebook could prevent a similar meltdown.

“I always felt confident that my money was safe [in 2008]”, he said. “How can you assure us, how can we be assured, that our money is going to be there?

Stay up to date with crypto news, get daily updates in your inbox.

[ad_2]