Two U.S. Senators – Maggie Hassan, a democrat from New Hampshire and Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa – have introduced a new bill that would allow regulators in the country to examine the behaviors of miners both within the nation and abroad.
Maggie Hassan Wants to Know What’s Happening in the Mining World
The new bill asks that the Treasury Department look at how nations today are using the crypto they mine. It also asks that they examine how much cryptocurrency has been mined in the last five years both in America and internationally. Many experts believe that the move is simply a means of better understanding China’s crypto agenda considering the country just did all it could to ensure bitcoin and crypto transactions became illegal and that all miners were removed from commission.
Lastly, the Treasury would be asked to look at the impact of crypto mining on supply chains. The Senators in question want to know how mining activity is potentially affecting things like semiconductors, of which there is a global shortage. This has caused serious problems for automobile manufacturers and individuals in similar industries.
Maggie Hassan explained in an interview:
In order to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, our government must get a better handle on the role that cryptocurrency is playing in the global economy and how it is being leveraged by other countries. I’m glad to partner across the aisle with Senator Ernst to help ensure that the Treasury Department stays on top of the use of cryptocurrency, including how it can impact our supply chains.
Over the past few weeks, members of Congress have consistently sought to invoke new laws pertaining to cryptocurrency activity in the U.S. The latest infrastructure bill – which is now garnering much disapproval – contained verbiage that would give the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more power over crypto transactions and regulators more opportunity to collect on potential crypto-based taxes.
In addition, Gary Gensler – the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – is feeling the pressure as of late to get things done on Capitol Hill when it comes to implementing appropriate crypto regulations.
Despite all this, the topic of crypto regulation is still a controversial one given that digital currencies were designed to give people privacy and more control over their financial futures. While some oversight may be necessary, too much can lead to the dissolution of the industry’s goals, and what was once built to be decentralized will ultimately wind up just another branch of modern, third party-run monetary politics.
Too Much Crime?
Hassan went on to say:
The anonymity provided by cryptocurrency has helped facilitate its use by criminals in a myriad of ways. These uses include drug sales over the dark web, payments for ransomware attacks, tax evasion, financing for terrorism and organized crime, money laundering, and more.
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