Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) publicly declared his support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for the first time at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.
The comments from South Carolina Republicans are a huge boost to crypto investors, given that Scott is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee, which has oversight over the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Scott spoke to Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis at the conference in a one-on-one chat, in which he expressed his desire for regulatory bodies to allow cryptocurrencies to remain innovative.
“We need to make sure that on our Committee, the Banking Committee, that we create the kind of rules of the road that are very wide. We need a wide pathway for Bitcoin to be successful here at home. We need to make sure that things like taxation and regulation do not stifle innovation,” Scott said.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been criticized by cryptocurrency investors for not clearly defining the rules surrounding platforms and transactions. The SEC has reportedly punished crypto companies, making him a popular target for those speaking at the Bitcoin conference.
President Trump, for example, garnered huge applause when he pledged to fire Gensler, promising to end the “anti-crypto crusade” by the SEC.
Later, Sen. Scott claimed that cryptocurrency provides an opportunity for impoverished and lower-class Americans to make investments:
“I became a huge fan [of Bitcoin] because I grew up in a single-parent household mired in poverty, and I always wondered how do we get opportunity back to the poorest Americans to these marginalized communities,” the 58-year-old told Sen. Lummis, according to Unchained. “The ability to bring resources and opportunities and access to the marketplace to the people who need it most — that is what Bitcoin is about … to give the average American a chance.”
Other politicians, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have touted Bitcoin and said that he is “fully committed” to the currency, admitting that he has “most of [his] wealth in Bitcoin.”
Despite all the praise from politicians, noted skeptic and whistleblower Edward Snowden warned about the increase in government participation with crypto platforms.
“Cast a vote, but don’t join a cult,” he remarked, according to the Tennessean. “They are not our tribe. They are not your personality. They have their own interests, their own values, their own things that they’re chasing. Try to get what you need from them, but don’t give yourself to them.”
However, Return’s managing editor Peter Gietl, who attended the conference, said that politicians are now leaning toward Bitcoin after seeing its value increase exponentially over recent years.
“As of today, it’s worth almost $1.4 trillion and is the ninth-most valuable asset in the world. It’s no longer possible to ignore the power Bitcoin has in the world,” Gietl said.
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