Republicans could hamper Congress' crypto crackdown after FTX collapse - MSNBC

1 year ago 50

The clip is ripe for Congress to probe and enact meaningful reforms to modulate cryptocurrencies, one of the astir tortured topics successful the United States today.

We’re conscionable weeks removed from the colossal illness of FTX, the once-popular crypto trading level formerly tally by laminitis Sam Bankman-Fried.

I wrote successful November astir how Bankman-Fried’s downfall outgo a batch of affluent investors their money, starring immoderate of them — who’ve antecedently demurred implicit authorities regularisation — to telephone for much authorities oversight of the crypto world.

And conscionable past week, the caput of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an autarkic bureau of the U.S. authorities that is progressively tasked with policing the crypto world, urged lawmakers during a Senate proceeding to walk regulatory measures focused connected integer currencies.  

There’s intelligibly immoderate momentum to instrumentality enactment connected cryptocurrency — the lone question is however substantive immoderate enactment volition beryllium fixed the divided Congress acceptable to instrumentality power successful January.

To beryllium clear, Democrats successful the Senate are already probing the FTX collapse, and Democrats successful the House person scheduled a proceeding connected the substance for adjacent week.

But Republicans preparing to clasp the House bulk person vowed to prosecute much conspiratorial threads relating to crypto. Specifically, right-wingers person tried to formed Bankman-Fried arsenic an exclusive benefactor to left-leaning causes — and Ukraine — to portray the FTX illness arsenic immoderate benignant of wide wealth scheme. (Note however this mentation serves 2 archconservative goals: slandering Democrats and parroting pro-Russian taking points astir Ukraine.) 

Unfortunately for Republicans, galore of these claims person been dispelled.  

Bankman-Fried, for example, has been known to donate to Republicans and Democrats alike. Recently, helium adjacent claimed —without grounds — that helium was among the apical donors to Republicans this predetermination cycle, a feat helium said helium was capable to execute successful concealed owed to laws permitting “dark money” donations to governmental causes. And, as The Washington Post noted past week, different FTX officials donated ample sums of wealth to Republicans arsenic well, without facing astir the aforesaid scrutiny arsenic Bankman-Fried. 

Fundamentally, what this means is that some large parties person connections to cryptocurrencies, and alternatively than thin connected opportunistic disinformation, determination should beryllium nationwide incentives to basal retired the almighty power these kinds of volatile “assets” tin wield successful our politics. That should mean serious – not specious — investigations into crypto. 

Democrats and Republicans person shown a troubling obsession with this still-unproven exertion — a technology, I should add, that has sedate implications for the environment and the nonaccomplishment of which has deed Black radical particularly hard

In an perfect world, the caller Congress would inactive find a mode to decently probe these things and nutrient authorities to hole them. Rest assured, I won’t beryllium holding my enactment waiting connected that.

Ja'han Jones is The ReidOut Blog writer. He's a futurist and multimedia shaper focused connected civilization and politics. His erstwhile projects see "Black Hair Defined" and the "Black Obituary Project."

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