Paul Grewal, Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, talks about “The Rise of Cryptocurrency Voters” on “The Claman Countdown.”
Former President Trump has big plans for vast federal regulatory infrastructure, including (figuratively) blowing it up.
These were the words of Rep. Byron Donald, a Republican from Florida and a prominent member of the House Financial Services Committee, speaking at cryptocurrency venture capital firm Blocktower’s investor day on Wednesday.
Donald revealed on Tuesday night that he was on a flight from Atlanta to Florida with the former president vying to be the next president. Mr. Donald said the two are dealing with what he called the regulatory “heads” facing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr. Trump's opponent in November, including the $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry. They reportedly discussed ways to resolve the issue.
“Bottom line: President Trump is ready for a housecleaning,” Donald told an intimate group of crypto investors gathered at the Perez Art Museum in Miami. “And it's not just cleaning house, we don't know what we're going to do after that. We actually have a systematic process to hire qualified people who have worked in our industry for many years in the United States. .”
Donald slammed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, one of the architects of the Securities and Exchange Commission's crackdown on digital assets and often said to be the crypto industry's nemesis. Trump vowed to fire Gensler “on day one” if elected.
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“The guy thinks he's smarter than everyone in the room,” Donald said. “I think this is the height of arrogance that is impossible for a chief supervisor to have.”
“The reforms adopted by the SEC under Chairman Gensler's leadership will enhance efficiency, competitiveness, and investor protection in the U.S. capital markets,” an SEC spokesperson told FOX Business. It's good for both banks and issuers. Our enforcement actions have held wrongdoers accountable and returned billions of dollars to harmed investors.”
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee during an oversight hearing on September 15, 2022 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. (Reuters/Evelyn Hochstein/Reuters Photo)
Donald, himself a former banker before running for office, said the cryptocurrency industry needs a so-called “regulatory sandbox,” where startups and companies in emerging industries that are currently unregulated are allowed to test. He said he plans to tell President Trump. They offer their products and services in a controlled environment without strict regulations.
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“This industry is going to change very rapidly over the next five years, and what we already know is that regulators in Washington are not nimble enough… We have no experience or knowledge of what's going on week by week, month by month, year by year. ” he said. “We need industry stakeholders to clarify the rules.”
Former President Trump visited Pubky, a crypto-themed bar in New York City's West Village, on September 18th. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images/Getty Images)
As FOX Business previously reported, Trump has aggressively canvassed the cryptocurrency industry, promising to ease regulations if elected. Why: Approximately 50 million Americans interact with cryptocurrencies, some of whom consider themselves so-called “single-issue voters,” voting for candidates based solely on whether they favor cryptocurrencies. Masu.
As a result, President Trump's pivot toward cryptocurrencies (he once called Bitcoin a scam) has escalated rapidly over the past year. President Trump's support for the industry and Republican backing have turned cryptocurrencies into an unexpected political football, forcing Harris to launch her own efforts to attract crypto believers. .
Donald doesn't trust the Democratic Party's support for cryptocurrencies, saying Democratic leaders like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders , said they are not serious about creating an environment where cryptocurrencies can thrive. They have all largely supported the Biden administration and the Gensler SEC regulatory regime.
“They don't want the United States to have a financial environment that they don't have direct control or oversight over,” he said.
From left: Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Sen. Bernie Sanders, R-Vermont, and former Vice President Joe Biden participate in a debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 25, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
In a potentially contentious exchange, an audience member interrupted the panel discussion and told Mr. Donald that he had no interest in hearing his political views and that he had come to the event to learn, not to immerse himself in politics. said.
“Thank you for your comments,” Donald said, adding that regulators are politically appointed and may exercise their powers differently depending on their own party's views, so there are two main concerns when it comes to regulation. He calmly stated that the political parties have two completely different views. .
Politics aside, he continued, the job of federal regulators is to carry out the mission given to them by Congress.
As a result, Mr. Donald said, he has pressured banks to limit their dealings with industries that regulators have deemed too risky to become prominent players in the financial system, giving them access to industries such as cryptocurrencies. He said it was blocked.
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“I would add that everyone wants to do business here, but not in a regulatory environment like the Biden administration, which is a continuation of the Obama administration. “I think I know a lot,” he said. Said.
