- Cryptocurrency is under attack from some powerful individuals who are seeking to push harmful bills through the US Senate, getting these bills passed into law and thereby bringing the entire industry to its knees.
- The latest effort involves proposed so-called America’s Rivalry Act
- The proposed bill contains elements that would authorize the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to stop or prohibit any transaction involving a domestic account, individual, or foreign institution whenever the Secretary deems there are “problems” with said transaction
Cryptocurrency is under attack from some powerful individuals who are seeking to push harmful bills through the US Senate, getting these bills passed into law and thereby bringing the entire industry to its knees. The latest effort involves proposed so-called America’s Rivalry Act.
1/ I wanted to share a few thoughts about House Democrats’ version of the America Competes Act (pg. 1485 below), which is raising alarms across the financial industry. https://t.co/ciDKzvE2VA
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 28, 2022
The proposed bill contains elements that would authorize the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to stop or prohibit any transaction involving a domestic account, individual, or foreign institution whenever the Secretary deems there are “problems” with said transaction. The Secretary may do so without any obligation to notify the public or solicit comments from the public. He or she may also do so without any obligation of duration and without any oversight by any financial regulator.
Cardano blockchain founder and IOHK CEO Charles Hoskinson expressed outrage at the bill as giving one person unilateral powers to ban, stop and restrict any cryptocurrency-related transactions threatens the entire industry.
“In short, it would bring the minister an unhindered power to ban financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, from offering their customers access to cryptocurrency networks, if it’s basically about giving the US the right to say, ‘Hey, there’s something here, we are concerned and he can temporarily block it for up to 120 days, at which point he needs a public hearing or public inquiry to go through the process of formalizing this concern.”
He argued that these are efforts by people, possibly sponsored by traditional and traditional banks and other financial institutions, to try to undo all the gains made through cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation.
“Each of these pieces of legislation is an attempt by those who dominate us and control us to bring us back to a system where they have all the power and we have no say and they print enough money every day. year to deflate money in your pocket by 20%. How do you save? You see a great reset program, they say you’ll own nothing and be happy – that’s how you get there – bill after bill after bill.”
Hoskinson said harmful provisions were re-introduced into the America Competes Act by Congressman Jim Himes even after they were removed from the National Defense Authorization Act last year because people realized how harmful they were. That people never wanted to hand over power to just one unelected bureaucrat to unilaterally ban financial transactions and accounts at will and without any public hearing or SEC oversight. Himes introduced it as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill last year.
Hoskinson said it is irresponsible to try to destroy the $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry with a bill that doesn’t even help America compete effectively with China.
“This industry exists as long as we fight it. Whether you are an Ethereum fan, a Solana fan, an NFT fan, or a Bitcoin fan, then you are all affected. At some point you stand up and say we’ve heard enough, don’t do it. Every politician who votes for it elects them.”
“This is not a joke, this is not an exercise, this is not a test. It is an industry that frees humanity from where it is, to a better state of affairs.”
He called on all those who support cryptocurrency and blockchain platforms to strongly oppose the bill and act decisively, share news about the proposed bill, call and write to their congressmen asking them to vote for it, and campaign against those who vote for it. pass such bills. A group of cryptocurrency-backing lawyers have vowed to fight the bill. It is expected that Senators Cynthia Lummis, Pat Toomey and others who advocate for the prosperity of the crypto industry will once again enter the fray.
The proposed bill comes just two months after the passage of the infrastructure bill that hit crypto exchanges with tax reporting requirements. Users must file a tax report with the IRS detailing sources of cryptocurrencies, e.g. sender names, sender social security numbers, and other data. This must be done for all cryptocurrency transactions of $10,000 or more. Exchanges and other crypto business services will also have to disclose the names and addresses of their customers, which will help surveillance.
