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The chairman of the US Senate Finance Committee urged the US authorities not to tighten regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, comparing it with the Internet.
Ron Wyden urged lawmakers to protect innovation in the cryptocurrency industry, not oppose it, despite government concerns that digital assets could be used for fraud and money laundering. The senator’s statement followed after it became known that the administration of President Joe Biden intends to include cryptocurrencies in a memorandum on US national security issues. The White House believes that the lack of regulatory rules for overseeing crypto assets threatens the well-being of citizens, so any unregulated activity must be stopped.
“Now there is a debate about tightening the regulation of cryptocurrencies, but I want to be on the side of innovation. When I think of cryptocurrencies, remittances come to mind. I represent a person who may be 1,000 miles away from their child or relatives and may need assistance in an emergency. By using cryptocurrencies, people don’t have to beat up bank doors or wait for slow money transfers,” Wyden said.
The senator compared the cryptocurrency industry to the Internet at the dawn of its existence. Congress has also worked to create regulations for online platforms so they can avoid being sued for their content. We are talking about section 230 of the Media Decency Act, which exempts platforms from liability for materials published by third parties.
The section has been criticized in recent months by Republicans and Democrats, who believe it should only apply to platforms that follow certain rules. Wyden argues that holding companies accountable for user-generated content will only encourage publishers of potentially harmful material to use unregulated sites. A similar situation can be applied to cryptocurrencies:
“Some of the bills may seem right, but they actually drive the ‘bad guys’ onto the dark web.”
There are other politicians in the US who believe that cryptocurrencies can be put to good use. For example, California congressional candidate Aarika Rhodes proposed using crypto assets to pay social benefits to low-income citizens.
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