Senator Sherrod Brown leaves open the possibility of a crypto ban after FTX

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Cryptocurrency firms reeling from the epic collapse of FTX and its aftermath received another unwanted development on Sunday talk shows.

Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, today answered questions on NBC Meet the Press about how lawmakers should approach cryptocurrencies after the FTX debacle.

Host Chuck Todd asked lawmakers if crypto regulation would give a green light to something many people think should be banned.

Brown, referring to the government agencies Treasury, Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, replied: We want them to do what they need to maybe ban.

His comments follow those of Senator Jon Tester, who sits on the same banking committee and whom Todd asked last weekend whether crypto should be regulated or banned.

One or the other, he replied. It was not able to pass the smell test for me, I see no reason why this stuff should exist. I really do not know.

Crypto an investment in nothing

But it’s not just lawmakers in Washington, DC, many top business leaders feel the same way.

In September, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called the crypto a decentralized Ponzi scheme that is not good for anyone.

Charlie Munger, vice president of Berkshire Hathaway and business partner of Warren Buffett, said this summer: Crypto is not an investment in anything. I think anyone selling this stuff is either delusional or evil. I am not interested in undermining the national currencies of the world.

Munger went so far as to praise Chinese leader Xi Jinping for being smart enough to ban Bitcoin in China.

But Brown acknowledged on Sunday that banning crypto is very difficult because it will go overseas and who knows how that will work out. This is a complicated and unregulated prize pool.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried based his company in the Bahamas, where he allegedly led a lavish penthouse lifestyle and, according to federal prosecutors, embezzled billions of dollars in client funds.

Bahamian authorities arrested him on Monday following official notification from the US government that he had filed criminal charges against him and would likely seek his extradition. The United States and the Bahamas have had an extradition process in place since 1994.

Crypto Doesn’t Get a Free Pass

Brown this week thanked the U.S. and Bahamian officials behind the arrest, adding in a statement I hope Mr. Bankman-Fried is brought to justice soon. Clearly he owes the American people an explanation.

He added:Things that look and behave like securities, commodities, or banking products must be regulated and supervised by responsible agencies that serve consumersCrypto doesn’t get a free pass because it’s brilliant and bright.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, noted in a tweet last month that FTX is an offshore exchange not regulated by the SEC.

His company is based in the United States and, as a publicly traded company, has more transparency than FTX. This week, Coinbase shares fell to an all-time low.

The problem is that the SEC has failed to create regulatory clarity here in the United States, so many American investors (and 95% of business activity) have gone overseas, he wrote . Punishing American companies for this makes no sense.

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