Congressman Brad Sherman is a staunch crypto sceptic and believes that it should be banned. His comments disregard any saving graces for the sector.
The Republican representative for Southern California, Congressman Brad Sherman, was interviewed by CNBC on Friday. He gave his views as to what he thought about crypto, and while admitting that it would not be banned any time soon, he thought that there would still be a chance to outlaw it at some point.
He stated that crypto was “not a new asset class” and that “Charles Ponzi” developed it more than a century ago. It is his view that if crypto loses enough of the money and power behind it, then there would be a better opportunity to pass legislation to have it banned.
AML and KYC laws are key
For Sherman, the key is to impose anti-money laundering (AML) laws on all crypto companies. He said that once this was done:
“Crypto loses the one thing it aspires to be, and that is to successfully compete with the dollar, by having an advantage over the dollar, and it has only one advantage, and that is it is well suited for the tax evaders, the bankruptcy fraud, the family court fraud, that can best be done if you avoid the Know Your Customer laws.”
He said that if these laws could be imposed then crypto would become “just another non-fungible token” and that it becomes “the pet rock of the 21st century”, (obviously a snipe against the NFT pet rock craze in Summer of 2021).
No societal value
When stated by the interviewer that gold could actually be seen as a pet rock, Sherman replied that “gold has established itself over the last 20,000 years. He thought that paintings could also be a store of value for people.
Sherman said:
“It has no societal value. We want people to invest in assets that will build the American economy. We want the animal spirits of the country to go into that, and when you take that willingness to take risks and you funnel it into cryptocurrency, you’re not creating a single job. You’re not building a factory. You’re not doing research that will expand how we live. You’re betting on a non-fungible token.”
Time will tell if Congressman Sherman is correct in his summation of the crypto asset class, or whether he is just one of those nay-sayers comparable to those that said that the Internet would not come to anything.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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