Senator Sherrod Brown believes that prohibiting crypto might be an option for addressing all of the risks associated with the technology.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, talked on Sunday about what steps authorities must take after the collapse of FTX.
He said that crypto may be something that “needs to be prohibited” if not for the possibility that it would drive the business offshore.
In an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press, Brown said that Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX, exploited political favour and money to build an appearance of respectability around himself, so exposing a fault in the existing political system.
However, he argued that the collapse of FTX is just a small portion of the crypto’s dangers, which include Ponzi scams, insufficient consumer safeguards, and national security concerns. This includes “Korean cybercriminals,” “drug trafficking,” “human trafficking,” and “terrorist funding.”
Brown said that he has previously requested that the secretary of the Treasury undertake a government-wide study of cryptocurrencies including many regulatory bodies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been especially active, although legislative action may also be required.
“I’ve spent the majority of the past year and a half in this position attempting to educate the public about crypto and the threats it poses to our national security and to consumers who are misled by it,” he added.
So far, the Biden administration has committed to adopting a regulated stance towards the cryptocurrency business, with “responsible innovation” as its primary focus for the sector. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said that he has “no desire to restrict” cryptocurrency, despite his scepticism about a large portion of the market.
Todd questioned Brown whether he believed the regulatory approach gave an unwarranted green light to a technology that should be completely forbidden.
Also Read: Former SEC Official Claims That Binance’s Finances Are Much Messier Than FTX
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