US Banking Committee chairman suggests banning cryptocurrencies

• Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown made the suggestion during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
• He however stated that it would be “very difficult” to ban crypto since they would simply “go offshore.”
• Brown has been calling for imminent and aggressive action to be taken on crypto for the last 18 months.

During a December 18 appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” United States Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown proposed that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) should possibly consider a ban on cryptocurrencies.

Brown, who is also the Ohio representative, was responding to a question about Senator Jon Tester who has previously said that cryptocurrencies should be banned. Brown however noted that banning crypto would be difficult since the business would go offshore if it were banned in the US. 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 would go offshore, and who knows how that would work.”

Calling for an aggressive action

Over the last 18 months, the Ohio representative has been trying to tell his House colleagues about the dangers of cryptocurrencies and calling for aggressive action to be taken.

Brown said:

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

The representative cited the recent FTX collapse saying that is an example of why a ban would be worth considering. He also argued that cryptocurrencies were a threat to national security citing North Korean cybercriminal activity that have largely use crypto. He also cited human trafficking, drug trafficking, and terrorism financing.