Senator Tina Smith: Total ban on cryptocurrencies is impossible

Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota said that regulators will not be able to completely ban cryptocurrencies, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the resources to regulate the industry. 

Commenting on the collapse of the FTX exchange and the arrest of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Senator Tina Smith said that regulators should apply stricter rules to the cryptocurrency industry. Senator Sherrod Brown recently proposed a total ban on cryptocurrencies, but lawmakers won't be able to go that far, Smith said.

She explained that about 40 million Americans have some kind of investment in cryptocurrencies, so it will not be so easy to do away with digital assets. When asked whether cryptocurrencies should be considered commodities under the authority of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the politician replied that the real issue is consumer protection. According to Smith, the SEC has the necessary experience for this. 

"We know how to protect consumers from shady financial transactions and unethical companies like FTX. The SEC has the experience and broad staff to play a key role in protecting investors. I'm not saying the CFTC doesn't play an important role. I just want to convey that there are fundamental means of protecting clients from robbery, and they must be respected," senator said. 

senator said.

Recall that last year, Tina Smith, along with other US senators, demanded that Facebook immediately stop testing the Novi cryptocurrency wallet. In addition, in November, Smith again approached Fidelity Investments demanding that Bitcoin be removed from retirement plans.