US Congressman Says Biden Administration Is Using the Banking Industry To Kill Cryptocurrency

U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida and I recently sat down in Manhattan to discuss Web3 and the banking crisis. I invited him  because, as a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, his work on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is certain to impact people’s lives.

During our conversation, Mr. Donalds highlighted Web3’s essential role in driving the American economic system forward. “… If you have a burgeoning industry that is creating new avenues for people in various communities to use their intellect or innovation or a sliver of a new market that nobody could think of before, to create value, to create wealth, to create income from other people, it's so essential to keeping America going.”

It is evident that Mr. Donalds believes our government’s unelected federal “alphabet agencies” are creating barriers across Web3’s domestic ecosystem.  And because clearly defined legislation is not yet in place, uncertainty has pushed jobs, venture capital, and private equity investment overseas.   

Here’s what he had to say: 

On keeping Web3 jobs in America

“We're [U.S. Congress] doing things … to make sure that we promote … capital staying here in the United States. We're losing way too much capital abroad …”

On self-regulation

“I'm really excited to see how much support we can get for a self-regulating enterprise for digital assets, because I think the ability of that will be infinitesimal in part because the CFTC, the SEC, the OCC, Treasury, the Fed, they don't have enough knowledge of this industry to regulate the industry. They don't... Sorry. It's true.”

On SEC Chairman Gary Gensler

“The SEC's a particular problem right now because Gary Gensler has never met a rule that he doesn't like to expand for his own purposes. He's a very arrogant individual. He believes he's the smartest person in every room, which I find to be a particularly terrible brand of arrogance and hubris …”

On whether Congress understands Web3 technology

“They are … 95% not in the know.”

On whether the Biden Administration is using the banking industry to kill cryptocurrency

“Yes. I'm just going to be blunt. Yes.” 

“What I've seen in my short time in Congress is that nothing is a coincidence with the government agency.”

“I want to be very clear how I say this. They cannot visualize a world, or they cannot visualize a large segment of America's economy that is transacted without the watchful eye of the federal government. Because if it's happening around the federal government and not through the federal government, they feel that there's not enough control on that, which could either A, harm people, which is an altruistic motive, or B, it gives them a lack of ability to tax. And C, it gives them a lack of ability to have regulatory oversight and controls to better themselves.”

On the U.S. government invading its citizens’ privacy through a Central Bank Digital Currency

“The privacy aspects of our transactions system is what makes us phenomenal. We should never lose that.”

“This is still the same Treasury Department that wanted authority to look into everybody's bank account ...” 

“So you mean to tell me that the same people within the Treasury who wanted that authority won't look behind the curtain in the blockchain …? Yeah, I don't believe that.” 

“So that's why my stance on [establishing a CBDC] has been one, we should not do it.”

On whether the U.S. government will prohibit behavior by controlling private citizens’ access to monies through a CBDC

“I don't see why they wouldn't try to do something like that.”

“We know that there are elements of Treasury and of the Fed who want to be able to look into your bank accounts. They tried to slip it into two pieces of legislation last Congress. We know this.” 

“So if I know those things to be true, why would I not think that

using a digital token created by the Fed, that you're going to allow all my transactions?  I'm having a hard time trusting that, which is why for me, the baseline is privacy of our transaction system matters more over anything else.”

“It's a trust system at the end of the day, that matters. And I think you have a lot of members in the Capitol  who still want to protect that.”

Marc Beckman is the CEO of DMA United, a NYC-based advertising agency.  Beckman’s clients include Pepsi, Sony Music, Warner Bros Entertainment, Karl Lagerfeld, NBA, and Nelson Mandela.  Mr. Beckman is the author of the bestselling book, The Comprehensive Guide:  NFTs, Digital Artwork, Blockchain Technology, and serves as New York University’s Senior Fellow Metaverse.  Mr. Beckman sits on the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets.