With former cryptocurrency mogul and FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, facing charges for fraud against customers and lenders, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., says stronger regulations are needed as the cryptocurrency industry expands, but would not go as far as to support banning the currency altogether.
“I just don’t understand how that would happen,” Smith said on Meet the Press NOW, “their latest estimates I heard were something like 40 million Americans have some sort of an investment or stake in crypto. So to say that we’re just going to end it, I don’t quite know how that would work.”
Smith, alongside fellow Democratic senators, have led a charge in sounding the alarm bells for stricter regulations on the growing problems with crypto. When asked whether crypto should be viewed as a commodity under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Smith said the real issue is making sure consumers are protected, calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to use their experience to do so.
“We know how in this country to protect consumers from shady financial deals and from unethical actors like it appears that FTX was and we should make sure that those laws are being enforced as they should be,” Smith said, “I personally think that the SEC has some level of experience and the breadth of staff to be a real key player here. I’m not saying that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission doesn’t have an important role to play. But I think the issue is how to make sure that there are there are basic fundamental customer protections in place so the people don’t get ripped off.”
On Title 42, Smith says the law used the pandemic as an excuse to “strip away” immigration rights that had been in place before. While Smith says the Biden administration has a plan in place to address the growing pressures at the southern border, the current omnibus spending bill Congress is trying to pass before the holidays does not include enough on immigration.
“We shouldn’t be summarily rejecting people who may have a lawful claim for asylum, but we need to have some sort of infrastructure in place and that’s what I think has been missing,” Smith said, “it will not include the kind of support we need for a rational immigration policy and immigration implementation on our southern border."