According to the Los Angeles Times, U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman, who chairs a House subcommittee on investor safety and is a major crypto skeptic in Washington, wants more strict cryptocurrency regulation, if not outright bans.
In an interview with the New York Times, Sherman compared cryptocurrency to a “Ponzi scheme,” claiming that lobbying and campaign contributions had kept the digital currency safe from further regulation.
“I don’t think we’ll get there anytime soon,” Sherman told The Times, adding that “we didn’t ban it at first because we didn’t recognize how essential it was, and we don’t ban it now because there’s too much money and power behind it.”
Instead of a ban, Sherman believes cryptocurrencies should be controlled by the Assets and Exchange Commission (SEC), the same agency that controls stocks, bonds, and other securities.
US Senators Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman, who introduced a bill last month that would define Bitcoin and Ether as digital commodities under the jurisdiction of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates other commodities such as corn and aluminum, are in the opposing camp.
Sherman will attend the Crypto Policy Symposium 2022 this Monday and Tuesday, among other crypto critics such as Alex Sobel, a member of the British Parliament, and John Reed Stark, former chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement.
