Chairman of the US Banking Committee Calls for a Crypto Ban, Here's the Reason

Chairman of the United States Banking Committee, Sherrod Brown. (photo: twitter @SherrodBrown ·)

JAKARTA - The chairman of the United States Banking Committee, Sherrod Brown, has suggested that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may have to consider banning cryptocurrencies.

Brown's comments were made during a December 18 appearance on NBC's "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, even though banning it is very difficult because it will spread overseas, and who knows how it will work,” Brown said, quoted by Cointelegraph.

In response to the host's previous question about Senator Jon Tester, who believes cryptocurrencies should be banned, Brown said he had "same thoughts."

The senator from Ohio said that over the last 18 months he had been "educating" his colleagues and the public about the dangers of cryptocurrencies, and called for immediate and aggressive action to be taken.

If crypto acts like a security, commodity, or bank account, then it needs to be regulated as such. pic.twitter.com/1KfHuSJgp7

— Senate Banking and Housing Democrats (@SenateBanking) December 14, 2022

"I've gone to the Treasury and the Secretary and asked for a government-wide assessment through all the various regulatory agencies [....] The SEC has been very aggressive, and we need to move forward in that way and legislatively if it comes down to it," he added.

Brown cited FTX's surprise collapse as an example of why a ban might be worth considering but added it was "only one big part of the problem."

He argued cryptocurrencies were "dangerous" and a "threat to national security," citing North Korea's cybercriminal activity, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and financing of terrorism as some of the problems they exacerbate.

The Chairman of the Banking Committee has expressed his skepticism of crypto for over a year now, having recently raised concerns about the issue of stablecoin issuance as well as cryptocurrency advertising and marketing campaigns.

Brown released a statement Nov. 30 calling for an "all-government" approach to governing the industry and on Dec. 13 commending the US Department of Justice for filing criminal charges against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently behind bars in the Bahamas awaiting extradition. to the US

But not all of Senator Brown's colleagues seem to be on the same page.

Senator Tom Emmer stated on November 23 that FTX's fall was not a “crypto failure” but rather a failure caused by centralized actors.

Emmer is also of the view that crippling regulations will stifle industrial innovation in the US, causing it to lose its position in global market dominance, something many believe has already been exposed.

It should also be noted that the incoming chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, is a pro-crypto. This week he called for delaying crypto tax changes to seek further clarification of the original "poorly drafted" tax provisions.