Despite his well-known skepticism of cryptocurrencies, California Congressman Brad Sherman believes that the "money and power" of those within the crypto industry will soon prevent any outlawing of digital currencies. In a recent speech to the Times, Sherman claimed that the big names behind cryptocurrency would prevent the government from banning it.
Sherman's comments come as many in the crypto industry are concerned about the possibility of more government regulation, particularly in the United States. While some believe such regulation would be a positive step for the industry, others fear it could stifle innovation and lead to an outright ban on cryptocurrency trading.
Sherman has constantly raised concerns around virtual digital assets for investors and the financial system, hoping to get them banned. Last year he said that he hoped cryptocurrency would be shut down because it's politically supported by patriotic anarchists who want to avoid taxes.
The cryptocurrency sector is expected to spend 2022 lobbying for legislative clarity through Congress.
Kristin Smith, the executive director for Blockchain Association, said that crypto has been sending out signals they want to engage in Washington and be productive.
The cryptocurrency lobby has had more than enough difficulty dealing with partisan policymakers. A politician whose views oppose that of Sherman is Congressman Tom Emmer has been pushing his views in the bipartisan Blockchain Caucus. According to Emmer, cryptocurrency policy is not becoming partisan even when it appears otherwise.
The conflicting opinions of policymakers also come through in how they want to regulate the sector. The first major bipartisan legislation for crypto assets was introduced by Sens. Gillibrand and Lummis in June to be treated as commodities under the CFTC. But Sherman believes the SEC should be the one handling crypto.
The congressman seems to think that crypto is a Ponzi scheme as he notes, "It's hard for us in our subcommittee dedicated to protecting investors not only here but also abroad when people want to bet on meme coins." According to him, cryptos are meme coins that people buy with the hope of selling at a higher price to other before it crashes.
The House committee is stepping up its game regarding cryptocurrency scams. The subcommittee on economic and consumer policy has demanded responses from regulators about how they plan to combat this growing problem in the industry, which has plagued many people lately with fake coins or projects hyped by false promises of easy money.