The Head of the US Congress’ Banking Committee Says Crypto Ban is Required

Sherrod Brown, a senator from Ohio, has proposed that the government authorities in the United States, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), “maybe” look into the possibility of outlawing cryptocurrencies. During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he did admit, however, that this prohibition would be “extremely tough” due to the fact that the cryptocurrency business might then go abroad.

Referring to the various regulators in the U.S., he said, “we want them to do what they need to do at the same time–maybe banning it, although banning it is very difficult because it will go offshore and who knows how that will work.”

Brown issued a warning that cryptocurrencies pose a threat to national security and cautioned that the use of cryptocurrencies exacerbates issues such as North Korean hacking, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and funding for terrorist organisations. The failure of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX which was the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, was cited as the reason for his support of a ban on cryptocurrencies. He said that the failure of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange “is only one huge part of this problem”.

In the beginning of this month, Brown made a plea for a coordinated effort on the part of a variety of government agencies in order to control crypto, saying in a statement that “single regulatory agencies currently generally do not have a comprehensive view of crypto asset entities’ activities.”

Since the beginning of this year, the chairman of the Banking Committee has been vocal about his doubts towards cryptocurrencies. Most recently, he has highlighted his worries over the issues of stablecoin issuance as well as cryptocurrency advertising and marketing efforts.

Brown issued a statement on November 30 calling for “all-of-government” approach to regulate the industry. On December 13, Brown applauded the United States Department of Justice for filing criminal charges against FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently imprisoned in the Bahamas awaiting extradition to the United States.