Cryptocurrency transcends party lines and revolves around the choice between supporting the administrative state or empowering the individual, according to United States Congressman Tom Emmer. While both political parties are gradually embracing crypto, one is showing more progress than the other. Emmer highlighted Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s support, alongside 70 other Democrats, for the resolution to overturn the controversial SAB 121 crypto rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He sees this as a sign that crypto opponents like Senator Elizabeth Warren, SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and even the White House may be losing their influence. Emmer expressed frustration with Warren’s significant role in decision-making at the White House.
Emmer noted that there is hope for the crypto-friendly Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) to be introduced in the Senate by Schumer. This bill has already passed in the House of Representatives. However, there is a possibility that the Senate may make changes to the bill before sending it back to the House. Alternatively, it may pass during the lame duck session, which occurs after the next elections but before newly elected legislators take their seats.
Emmer was not surprised by the SEC’s approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds, considering the agency’s recent policy reversals. He suggested that Gensler might be on his way out and warned against underestimating a cornered animal.
Looking ahead, Emmer believes that a crucial development for digital assets would be the creation of a solid and globally tradable stablecoin. He speculated that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell could face a similar fate as Gensler. Emmer criticized the Federal Reserve for its confusion regarding the development and implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Despite Powell’s repeated statements that the Fed would not issue a CBDC without Congressional authorization, Emmer pointed to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets as proof of the Fed’s uncertainty. The recent passage of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in the House further demonstrated the political significance of this issue. Emmer likened a CBDC to a surveillance tool similar to those employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, he did not rule out the possibility of embracing digital cash that truly replicates the privacy and open use of physical cash.
In conclusion, Emmer argued that both the Republican and Democratic parties have their shortcomings when it comes to crypto. The GOP’s crypto maximalists are nearly as problematic as the Democrats’ anti-crypto army, according to his opinion.