Posted 1 year ago | by Bethany Armstrong

Cryptocurrency and US Lawmakers

US Lawmakers have moved from ignoring cryptocurrency to trying to decide what role cryptocurrency plays in the United States.

While a significant amount of US political attention has recently been directed towards Facebook's cryptocurrency project, Libra. It is not the first time that US lawmakers have raised objections to cryptocurrency. However, the social media's cryptocurrency project has been the catalyst in bringing cryptocurrency to the forefront of conversations.

When Bitcoin was first introduced to the world in 2009, US lawmakers didn't give it too much attention. Fast forward 10 years, and not only are governments taking notice, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are beginning to change things around the world. Countries around the world are adopting blockchain technology. World leaders are considering how cryptocurrency can be an asset.

As governments around the world begin to accept cryptocurrency, it begs the question what that means for the United States.

Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been very vocal about opposing Facebook's Libra project. “I’m very concerned about Facebook’s plan to create a digital currency Libra and digital wallet Calibra. It appears that Facebook is working to create a global financial system that is intended to rival the U.S. dollar...I hope to hear what steps the SEC has taken is doing to ensure that Libra is appropriately and rigorously regulated.” Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), of the House Financial Services Committee 

 The Ohio Senator, who was one of the co-writers of the strongly worded letter to MasterCard, Visa and Stripe regarding Libra, has previously expressed concerns about cryptocurrency. Forbes quoted Senator Sherrod Brown as saying that, "he wants to see crypto and blockchain bring financial services to the unbanked and other benefits to consumers, but so far, the real-world applications have been few and the number of scams many."
Not all US politicians are against cryptocurrency.
In 2014, Republican Andrew Hemingway was the youngest Gubernational candidate in New Hampshire history. He was also the first to accept Bitcoin. Approximately 20 percent of his campaign revenue came from Bitcoin.
Idaho Republican Mike Crapo, forecasted the landscape of crypto and blockchain looms more favorably for the future than the present. “Blockchain networks have the potential to improve processes for things like smart contracts, payments and settlement, identity management and even things yet undiscovered,” Crapo predicted. 
This prediction offers solutions to how the U.S. government responds to cryptocurrency. One thing is certain, U.S. lawmakers can no longer turn a blind eye to cryptocurrency.