If you’re a politician, this isn’t an easy time to come out supporting crypto. Especially in the wake of the FTX collapse, it might seem more expedient -- and safer -- to make crypto a punching bag than endorse it as a promising industry.
Let’s start with the current state of play in Congress. How does the lack of a Speaker impact the push for sensible crypto regulation?From the Republican side, Interim Speaker Rep Patrick McHenry is very a strong proponent of having reasonable regulations, and setting up a structure where blockchain technologies and digital finance can thrive in the United States. He and his committee have several bills; we've supported a couple of them.
We're supposed to be adults who should understand that the opportunities far outweigh the costs. We're looking for a regulatory environment, that's what the industry's asking for.I agree completely with Tim on all counts. Actually, when the administration first started, there were some fairly balanced things that were being produced out of the White House. But I think they've allowed the anti-crypto forces to emerge.
Right now, there are no clear structures to do that, and so they are being regulated by enforcement actions, which means they don't have any clarity. There are so many good actors in this area who want to produce a good product, want to sell it to people in good faith. But in the absence of the rules, they don't know what's allowed and what's not allowed.
We want to make sure that this continues to be an American technology. And if we continue down this path, it won't be, and it'll be the Americans who suffer, American businesses who suffer, and ultimately American workers who suffer, because we won't be driving the investments or creating the efficiencies that we can with this kind of technology.
One of the most outrageous things I heard about, and this came from New York regulators, is that banks in New York have been de-banking people because they have a Coinbase account. To me that’s wrong. They shouldn't do it. And they certainly shouldn't be pressured by regulators in New York or Washington to engage in that kind of activity.