US Senate Banking Chair Floats Possibility Of Banning Crypto

Sherrod Brown, the head of the United States Banking Committee, has stated that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) might want to take into account outlawing cryptocurrency.

Brown made his remarks during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on December 18, however, the senator soon clarified that enforcing a ban would be challenging.

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

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

The Ohio representative stated that over the last 18 months, he has been “educating” his colleagues and the public on the dangers of cryptocurrencies, calling for imminent and aggressive action to be taken.

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

Brown used the shocking collapse of FTX as an illustration of why a ban could be worthwhile, but he also noted that it “is only one major aspect of this problem.”

Citing North Korean cybercrime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the financing of terrorism as some of the problems aggravated by cryptocurrencies, he claimed they are “hazardous” and a “threat to national security.”

The head of the Banking Committee has been skeptical of cryptocurrencies for more than a year, most recently raising issues with stablecoin issuance and cryptocurrency advertising and marketing activities.

Brown praised the U.S. Department of Justice on December 13 for filing criminal charges against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently detained in the Bahamas awaiting extradition to the U.S., in his own Nov. 30 statement calling for an “all-of-government” approach to regulate the industry.

Senator Brown’s colleagues don’t all appear to agree with him

On November 23, Senator Tom Emmer said that the decline of FTX wasn’t a “crypto failure” but rather a failure brought on by centralized actors.

Emmer believes that overbearing regulation will inhibit industry innovation in the US and cause it to lose its position as the world’s dominant market, which many believe is already happening.

It should be noted that Patrick McHenry, who will be the new chairman of the House Committee on Financial Service, supports cryptocurrency. He requested a postponement of the proposed crypto tax amendments this week in order to get additional information on the initial, “poorly worded” tax provision.

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