The turbulent waves in the crypto industry raised some voices of uncertainty about the future of cryptos. The last one came from United States Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown, who noted that the monetary regulators in the United States - the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), have to consider a ban on cryptos in their current form.
Indeed, Brown commented on the topic in a TV appearance, adding that “…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.”
Brown’s comments echoed Senator Jon Tester’s opinion that cryptocurrencies should be banned. Furthermore, Brown spent the last 18 months “educating” his colleagues and the public on the dangers of cryptocurrencies.
“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,” Brown noted.
Meanwhile, Brown also spoke about the recent FTX saga, citing that a ban may have saved investors, but highlighted that the FTX crash is “only one huge part of the problem”, as cryptos, according to the Senator, are “dangerous” and a “threat to national security,” giving examples with North Korea’s cybercriminal activity and terrorism financing.
Are legislators turning back on cryptos?
The Banking Committee chairman is skeptical about the near future of cryptos, as Brown pinpointed stablecoin issuance as well as cryptocurrency advertising and marketing campaigns as prime examples of concern.
And as the FTX saga was unraveling, Brown applauded the U.S. Department of Justice for filing criminal charges against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, after the Bahamian police arrested SBF and put him behind bars.
However, not everyone agrees with Brown, as Senator Tom Emmer stated on November 23 that FTX’s crash wasn’t a “crypto failure” but rather a demise caused by centralized actors. Emmer added that regulation enforcement could cripple the rate of crypto innovation in the U.S. – a scenario, which is already happening, according to Brown’s colleague.
Furthermore, the incoming chairman of the House Committee on Financial Service, Patrick McHenry, is pro-crypto, with McHenry already calling for a delay on crypto tax changes in order to overhaul the original “poorly drafted” tax provision.