Congressman Brad Sherman has called for a ban on cryptocurrency buying.
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U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman has called for a blanket ban on cryptocurrency buying. During the Wednesday hearing of a subcommittee for the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, he went so far as to advocate keeping Americans out of the crypto market entirely and earlier in March this year, he called cryptocurrencies “a crock”
“We should prohibit U.S. persons from buying or mining cryptocurrencies,” stated this California Democrat. And their largest donor is credit card processor Allied Wallet.
Beyond cryptocurrencies being potentially used as a form of money in the future, it can currently be used by tax evaders and rogue states seeking to bypass U.S. sanctions, he added.
Ban on crypto buying and mining in the USA?
Norbert Michel, director for the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation, pushed back against the idea that criminal use should define cryptocurrencies as a whole.
“Yes it is true that criminals have used bitcoin, but it’s also true that criminals have used airplanes, computers and automobiles. We shouldn’t criminalize any of those instruments simply because criminals used them.” he said and added “Those components I believe are the main barriers to widespread adoption in the U.S.”
The tale behind of ban on crypto buying and mining
During the hearing, the topic was general monetary policy and history, but the crypto-specific parts revealed a general opposition to the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Recap: central banks around the world have been explored the idea of using the technology concepts behind bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as part of new, completely digital money systems. The idea is that the tech boost transparency and efficiency.
But some have warned that it could expand the risk of bank main points, and several institutions guaranteed that entirely following their research.
Alex Pollock, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, refused the concept and declared it as “a terrible idea – one of the worst financial ideas of recent times.”
Congressman Bill Foster asked about blockchain immutability, saying “the promise of blockchain is a non-falsifiable ledger remains an unsolved problem in the digital world is how do you authenticate yourself?”
If you don’t understand, ban the crypto buying and mining
Other committee members agreed that the idea raised more fundamental questions about how blockchain and cryptocurrencies work.
Dr. Eswar Prasad, senior professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University, argued that the existence of cryptocurrencies had the power to impact the financial services system, primarily the payments system, in positive ways.
Just prior to the hearing, chairman Andy Barr noted that cryptocurrencies will “continue to have a greater and greater impact on our financial system,” which means that the committee would probably have to “revisit” once again.
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