Regulation
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US Senator Michael Bennett has a grudge against banks forging ties to cryptocurrencies while the marijuana industry remains largely shut off from the financial system.
The Colorado Democrat raised those concerns at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, where Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen answered questions from lawmakers on topics such as taxes, interest rates and bank failures.
Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank went bankrupt in the last week. Crypto companies make up about 20 percent of deposits at Signature Bank, according to Barron’s.
“Signature Bank crashed last weekend and almost a fifth of its deposits came from cryptocurrencies – like they are not allowed to do anything with marijuana, but apparently they can put 20 percent of that amount on cryptocurrencies – notoriously volatile like you you know, a thing no one here even understands,” Bennett said.
the federal law
According to the American Bankers Association, marijuana is legal in 37 US states, although possession, distribution, or sale is still illegal at the federal level.
Bennett asked Yellen’s thoughts on whether Signature is doing the right thing with investors by investing in a cryptocurrency that is “not even as stable as the marijuana industry.”
#Cryptocurrency #stable #marijuana #industry
