SEC and CFTC, may need to consider a ban on cryptocurrencies, though implementing the measure may prove difficult. Brown, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said this on NBC.
“We [legislators] want them [the regulators] to do what is necessary […] perhaps by banning them [cryptocurrencies]. Such a scenario is extremely challenging, since they [digital assets] would move offshore, and few can predict what this measure would lead to,” the senator explained.
Brown supported Jon Tester, who also sits on the Banking Committee. On December 12, the lawmaker said that cryptocurrencies have not passed ‘vetting’, and therefore there is no reason for their existence.
Brown admitted that over the past 18 months he has ‘educated’ the senators and the public about the ‘risks of cryptocurrencies’, calling for immediate and aggressive action.
“I have already reached out to the Treasury and to Secretary Janet Yellen and asked for a government-wide assessment across all the various regulatory agencies. […]. The SEC has been particularly aggressive. We need to move forward in this way and do so legislatively if and when this comes to pass,” he explained.
As justification for his position, Brown the FTX collapse, adding that this is only ‘a huge part of the problem’.
In his words, cryptocurrencies are ‘dangerous’ and pose a ‘threat to national security’. He cited cybercrimes carried out by North Korean hackers, illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the financing of terrorism.
On December 7, Brown invited the founder and former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, to provide written testimony regarding the causes of the exchange’s bankruptcy, which he ignored.
On December 13, the senator welcomed the DOJ’s filing of criminal charges against the top executive.
I applaud the @TheJusticeDept and the Bahamian authorities for holding Sam Bankman-Fried accountable.
The @SenateBanking and Housing Committee will continue working to uncover crypto’s risks to consumers, our financial system, and our national security. https://t.co/dsSJ09PzYx
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) December 13, 2022
“Both chambers of Congress will continue to work to identify crypto-related risks to consumers, the financial system, and national security,” he wrote at the time.
In November, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, urged to tighten crypto regulation, drawing parallels between FTX and Lehman Brothers.
In July, she urged Congress and the SEC to take a tougher stance toward the industry amid problems with Celsius Network and several other companies.
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