US Senate Banking President Talks Possibility of Banning Crypto

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United States Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown has suggested that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may need to consider a cryptocurrency ban.

Brown’s comments were made during a Dec. 18 appearance on NBC Meet the Press, though the senator was quick to add that a ban would be difficult to enforce.

We want them to do what they need to do at the same time, maybe ban it, although banning it is very difficult because it would go overseas, and who knows how that would work.

Earlier, in response to a host’s question about Senator Jon Tester who thinks cryptocurrencies should be banned, Brown said he shared the same thought.

The Ohio representative said that over the past 18 months he has been educating his colleagues and the public about the dangers of cryptocurrencies calling for imminent and aggressive action.

I’ve already gone to the Treasury and the Secretary and asked for a government-wide assessment through all the different regulatory agencies [….] The SEC has been particularly aggressive, and we need to move forward on that and legislatively if it comes to that, he added.

Brown cited the collapse of the FTX shock as an example of why a ban may be worth considering, but added that this is only a significant part of this problem.

He argued that cryptocurrencies are dangerous and pose a threat to national security, citing North Korean cybercriminal activity, drug trafficking, human trafficking and terrorist financing as some of the problems exacerbated by cryptocurrencies.

The Banking Committee Chairman has been vocal in his skepticism of crypto for over a year, having recently raised concerns over stablecoin issuance issues as well as crypto advertising and marketing campaigns. -change.

Brown released a self-help statement Nov. 30 calling for a whole-of-government approach to regulating the industry and applauded the U.S. Department of Justice Dec. 13 for filing criminal charges against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman. -Fried, who is currently behind bars in the Bahamas awaiting extradition to the United States.

I commend @TheJusticeDept and Bahamian authorities for holding Sam Bankman-Fried accountable.

The @SenateBanking and Housing Committee will continue to work to uncover the risks of crypto to consumers, our financial system, and our national security. https://t.co/dsSJ09PzYx

— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) December 13, 2022

Related: US Senator: There’s “No Reason Why” Crypto Should Exist

Not all of Senator Brown’s peers seem to share his thoughts.

Senator Tom Emmer said on Nov. 23 that the fall of FTX was not a cryptographic failure but rather a failure caused by centralized players.

Emmer also believes that crippling regulation would stifle industry innovation in the United States and lose its position of market dominance around the world, which many believe is already happening.

It should also be noted that the new chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Patrick McHenry, is pro-crypto. This week, he called for a postponement of the crypto tax changes in order to get more clarity on the original and poorly drafted tax provision.

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