Elizabeth Warren Cultivates Anti-Crypto Coalition (politico.com) 55
Warren is zeroing in on national security concerns as her focus for potential crypto legislation, even as she raises red flags about a host of issues in the space, from consumer protections to environmental impact. From a report: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is branding herself as the scourge of crypto. And she's not doing it alone. The progressive Massachusetts Democrat is starting to recruit conservative Senate Republicans to her anti-crypto cause and getting some early positive vibes from bank lobbyists, who also want to rein in digital asset startups. Warren has emerged as a lead lawmaker on crypto oversight and is trying to build support behind a bill that would have sweeping implications for the industry via tougher anti-money laundering restrictions, including requirements that more crypto service providers verify customer identities.
"I want to emphasize how good her office has been to work with," said Sen. Roger Marshall, the Kansas Republican who co-sponsored Warren's legislation. Crypto advocates are resisting Warren's push, and some dismiss her as an outlier. But her budding partnership with GOP lawmakers reflects broader forces that are poised to unite progressives and conservatives, watchdog groups and bankers, who share common cause in wanting to derail the unfettered growth of crypto. That's in stark contrast to last year, before the crypto market meltdown, when digital currency lobbyists had gained serious traction with lawmakers who drafted friendlier, bipartisan legislation with the industry's input. "It's up to the crypto sector to prove at this point that they're safe, secure and superior, and I don't think they've made that case," said Paul Merski, who leads congressional relations at the Independent Community Bankers of America.
"I want to emphasize how good her office has been to work with," said Sen. Roger Marshall, the Kansas Republican who co-sponsored Warren's legislation. Crypto advocates are resisting Warren's push, and some dismiss her as an outlier. But her budding partnership with GOP lawmakers reflects broader forces that are poised to unite progressives and conservatives, watchdog groups and bankers, who share common cause in wanting to derail the unfettered growth of crypto. That's in stark contrast to last year, before the crypto market meltdown, when digital currency lobbyists had gained serious traction with lawmakers who drafted friendlier, bipartisan legislation with the industry's input. "It's up to the crypto sector to prove at this point that they're safe, secure and superior, and I don't think they've made that case," said Paul Merski, who leads congressional relations at the Independent Community Bankers of America.
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Not all crypto has infinite traceability. Indeed, infinite traceability breaks fungibility which is necessary for any functional currency.
traceability breaks fungibility [Re:yay, new...] (Score:5, Insightful)
Indeed, infinite traceability breaks fungibility
No, not unless people using the cryptocurrency care which bitcoin (or other token) they get.
Dollar bills have serial numbers: they are distingishable. But unless the people paying or receiving payment in dollars care which bill they get, dollars are still fungible.
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If they did with crypto tokens what they do with money used in crimes, this whole shit would be over pretty quickly.
Ever tried to deposit a note that was used to pay a ransom? Yes, you probably weren't the person who took the ransom, but they make sure that it's really inconvenient for you.
Do the same with cryptocrap and people will instantly shy away from any kind of "mixer" or other crypto laundering scheme because the chance to get something back that was used in some shady business is quite considerable
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Well, what other purpose but to hide money laundering do they serve?
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: yay, new narrative! (Score:2)
Re: yay, new narrative! (Score:2)
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Oh, I see. Hey, FBI - I assume you're reading this - got a scammer here. One of those like a mafia enforcer claiming "it's just business".
Love to see hated politican against FU money (Score:1)
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I'm no fan of Warren but when Kamala proposed some censorship idiocy while she was a failing 2020 Presidential runner, when asked about it Warren said hell no.
Then again, maybe it's just because she's older, and remembers what free speech used to mean in this country.
Re:Love to see hated politican against FU money (Score:5, Interesting)
She’s gone a bit over the optimal midpoint in my opinion, but she makes a lot of good points.
Moderate, careful, thoughtful capitalist regulation is unsatisfying, boring, and makes for unprofitable clickbait. But its second-to-none for making an economy thrive.
Re:Love to see hated politican against FU money (Score:5, Informative)
(From the Wiki page on her) According to Warren, she left the Republican Party because it is no longer "principled in its conservative approach to economics and to markets" and is instead tilting the playing field in favor of large financial institutions and against middle-class American families.
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A valid objection. Back in 2020 when she was a candidate, Tucker Carlson endorsed her economic plan.
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Oh,yeah, right. Middle-class families have large investments in crypto.
And I've got a bridge for sale.
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See that? Even a broken watch is right twice a day.
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That's not a valid reason. (Score:1)
Cryptocurrency NOTEQUAL electricity waste (going forward.)
So if you're intent on killing it, you will need a better pretext.
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Some of them have much smaller chunks of fine-grained sub-computation per node.
Your arguments in this direction are not fundamental, or put another way, are a feeble objection.
It sounds much more like knee-jerk opposition to anything new and different to me.
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Yep. I'm sitting on one that is entirely worthless and doesn't use electricity at all. It just accrues over time on my phone. I'm waiting for the day when they actually allow you to exchange it into money, but I'm not holding my breath that it will be worth more than a penny per unit.
Anti-this (Score:4, Insightful)
I will listen to nothing about anti-laundering legislation until government passes a law that all money exchange firms (banks, Pay Pal, etc.) are required to support all legal transactions.
After all, it says right there on your currency what it's good for.
Making a market should not carry with it the power to deny. The People should not have to pay the price for the modern convenience of electronic transactions.
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After all, it says right there on your currency what it's good for.
Debts to the government, and debts to private parties that are being enforced through the courts...
And... you knew that. But spewed the lie anyway. Says a lot about you.
The funny part is you think the small gubermint you demand will force the banks to do whatever you want. The rug would get pulled out from under you so fast you wouldn't even see the ground coming.
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That's funny... .my bills all say "For ALL debts, public and private". Mine leave out the caveat you added: "Well, all private debts being enforced through court awards".
To me, all debts means, well, all debts - regardless of source. Is there another legalese definition of "all" that I don't know about?
Re: Anti-this (Score:2)
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Banking (as in fiat) uses more resources than Bitcoin. Ditto Gold in particular. Then we could move on to all the companies whose shares are traded on the stock exchanges of the world (you know, the ones actually digging holes in the ground, sending filthy chemicals into the air, enslaving people to make gadgets for nerds like us, and consuming a whole heap of energy and limited resources whilst they do it).
Criminals use crypto, sure. But they also use briefcases full of cash. Also melted-down gold jewelry
Please use proper terms (Score:5, Insightful)
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If I had mod points, you'd get them. This sort of reporting is confusing, especially to laypeople.
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When I said the exact same thing ages ago, I got modded down.
Guess that's what I get for being ahead of my time or something.
I even tried to find the comment with the goog, but I didn't turn it up immediately. I don't think they're ranking individual slashdot comments very high any more, just discussions.
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Crytocurrency:Tax-Evading, Wasteful, Subversive (Score:1)
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I agree. Cryptocurrency has no redeeming qualities, and should be taken behind the shed and shot. Congress doesn't have much common ground, but this one should be easy for everyone to get behind.
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crypto solved a problem that doesn't exist. It's a get rich quick scheme, plain and simple.
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Smart-contract and distributed ledger technology, as it matures, has the potential to greatly reduce friction in economic activity and financial transactions generally. As well as to add a level of transparency, standardization, irrepudiation in financial and related legal matters which has not been seen before.
Ultimately, it has the potential to reduce corruption, informality, delays, and other ineff
Heap Big Chief Lie-In-Pants (Score:1, Troll)
Big Chief Lie-in-Pants wants all the wampum for the feds.
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I have only a very vague idea of what you just said. Assuming, though, that you're suggesting that someone wants to reserve the power to create and regulate currency solely to the Federal government, my response is: the U.S. Constitution reserves the power to create and regulate currency solely to the Federal government (Section 8).
OFAC won't be happy (Score:2)
I don't understand why the US Federal government wants to kill off crypto when stake-based coins like Ethereum give OFAC a huge amount of control over transactions that get processed...
Its almost like they don't want to control Ethereum.
Hey Oklahoma... (Score:1)