A New Bill Would Give U.S. Treasury Power to Ban Crypto Transactions
A new draft bill introduced in the United States has a provision that “would essentially give the Treasury Secretary unchecked and unilateral power” to ban cryptocurrency transactions, according to Coin Center.
The draft version of the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which was pushed forward by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology this week, lists measures to maintain U.S. economic superiority over China. It covers improving medical supply chains, strengthening cybersecurity, and promoting STEM research, among a host of other issues.
“Special Measures” would give Treasury Secretary unchecked and unilateral power to ban exchanges
Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center, a D.C.-based think tank focused on the public policy issues facing cryptocurrencies, said that the America COMPETES Act of 2022 “will very likely pass in some form.”
He went on to point out that it contains the “special measures” provision proposed by Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes “that would be disastrous not just for cryptocurrency but for privacy and due process generally.” He continued:
“The so-called ‘special measures’ provision … would essentially give the Treasury Secretary unchecked and unilateral power to ban exchanges and other financial institutions from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions.”
However, the bill’s not just aimed at crypto, but the provision would apply to all regulated financial institutions in the U.S. and is designed to counter international money laundering.
According to the current law the Treasury must engage in a public rulemaking before instituting a prohibition, said Brito, adding that “the secretary can impose a surveillance special measure through a simple order, but its duration is limited to 120 days and must be accompanied by a public rulemaking.”
Brito warned:
“If adopted into law, this provision would be disaster not just for crypto but for privacy and democratic public process related to *all* types of financial transactions.
It empowers the Secretary to prohibit any (or indeed all) cryptocurrency transactions (or any other kind of transaction) without any process, rulemaking, or limitation on the duration of the prohibition.”
