In a recent interview, US Congressman and well-known cryptocurrency skeptic Brad Sherman stated that banning cryptocurrencies is not an option today.
In a statement to the LA Times, the Northridge Democrat said the cryptocurrency industry has become quite powerful over the years. He added that the high capital donations to politicians and crypto lobby groups make it impossible for them to impose a blanket ban. He explained:
“We didn’t ban them in the beginning because we didn’t realize they were important, and we don’t ban them now because there’s too much money and power behind it.”
The Democratic representative is a well-known skeptic who has demanding a ban on cryptocurrencies from 2019. Nearly three years later, Sherman has changed his mind about a ban and now advocates regulating the cryptocurrency market.
US congressman is particularly concerned about small investors and retailers, who are often the victims of naive scams, but he admitted that any efforts by the judiciary to protect investors will not work until they continue to invest in cryptocurrencies like memecoins. He said:
“It is difficult to run the subcommittee dedicated to the protection of investors in a country where people want to bet [por memecoins]”.
Sherman advocated for cryptocurrencies to come under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The same commission he criticized in July earlier this year for not going after the bigwigs: cryptocurrency exchanges.
US lawmakers have long called on US regulators to bring the nascent cryptocurrency market under the purview of the law. However, there has been a huge difference of opinion on how the digital asset market should be regulated.
A significant majority of lawmakers, including Sherman, favor strict regulatory policies that crypto advocates believe infringe on decentralization. The Tornado Cash ban was one such example supported by the likes of Sherman. On the other hand, US lawmakers like Hester Peirce and Cynthia Lummis have long been fighting for legislation in favor of cryptocurrencies.
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