Crypto Should Be Outlawed... Maybe, Senator Says: FTX Just One Problem Out Of Many

The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should consider banning cryptocurrencies, according to Sherrod Brown, chairman of the United States Banking Committee.

“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 would go offshore, and who knows how that would work,” he said during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Dec. 18.

Senator Jon Tester also thinks cryptocurrencies — such as Bitcoin BTC/USD — should be outlawed.

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Brown, an Ohio Democrat, has been "educating" his colleagues and the general public about the risks associated with cryptocurrencies while urging swift and decisive action, he explained.

“I’ve already gone to the Treasury and the Secretary and asked for a government-wide assessment through all the various regulatory agencies," he said. "The SEC has been particularly aggressive, and we need to move forward that way and legislatively if it comes to that."

Brown used the collapse of FTX as an illustration of why a ban could be worthwhile, but he also noted that it “is only one huge part of this problem.”

Cryptocurrencies are "dangerous" and a "threat to national security," he said, citing North Korean cybercrime, drug, and human trafficking, and terrorism financing.

Brown recently raised issues with stablecoin issuance, cryptocurrency advertising and marketing activities. He favors an "all-of-government" strategy to oversee the business.

On Dec. 13, he praised the U.S. Department of Justice for charging Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, who is presently detained in the Bahamas awaiting extradition.

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