U.S. Representative Brad Sherman said that Congress prevented crypto from being banned because “there’s a lot of money and power behind it.” “Money for lobbying and money for campaign contributions either works, or people don’t, and that’s why we haven’t banned crypto.”
Why did the US Legislature and Congress ban crypto?
Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) published his thoughts on cryptocurrency and regulation in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.
The California Legislature and the House Subcommittee on Investor Protection want to ban cryptocurrency, but do not believe that Congress will take such action. “I don’t think we’re going. [ban crypto] Anytime soon,” he told the news outlet.
“Lobbying money and campaign contributions work, or people don’t, and that’s why we haven’t banned crypto,” Sherman explained.
We didn’t ban it at first because we didn’t realize it was important and there’s a lot of money and power behind it, so we don’t ban it now.
Not only is the congressman concerned about fraud by individual investors, but he also believes that cryptocurrency poses a threat to US national security.
The lawmaker is particularly concerned about crypto hybrid services like Tornado Cash. In August, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) banned an Ethereum mixer app, saying the mixer helped a hacking syndicate known as the Alazar Group, a North Korean hacker.
Sherman admits there is little he can do to keep investors from spending their money recklessly. “In a country where people want to bet, it is difficult to manage a sub-committee for the protection of investors [meme coins]” commented the US legislator:
It’s a meme where you invest in cryptocurrency thinking you can sell it to someone else before you accumulate it. That’s the good thing about a Ponzi scheme.
Sherman went on to discuss crypto regulation, which has no restrictions. Similar to crypto as a stock or security, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) believes it needs to regulate the crypto sector, citing the regulator’s size, expertise and aggressive enforcement measures.
However, three bills have been introduced in Congress this year to make the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the primary regulator of the crypto industry.
In July, Sherman urged the SEC to move major crypto exchanges that sell XRP. The securities regulator said it took 97 crypto-related enforcement actions in January. In May, the regulator said it could double the size of its crypto enforcement unit.
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