Pro-bitcoin U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has been appointed to the Senate banking committee. She has been talking to Janet Yellen and has outlined her plans to help the new Treasury Secretary and other U.S. lawmakers understand that bitcoin is a great store of value. Lummis says that Yellen has an open mind on this topic even though she currently thinks that cryptocurrencies are mainly used for illicit financing.
Senator Lummis Plans to Convince Congress and Janet Yellen About the Benefits of Bitcoin
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis was appointed to the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee last week. The committee has jurisdiction over a range of matters, including banks, banking, federal monetary policy, currency, and financial aid to commerce and industry. Lummis was sworn in to the U.S. Senate on Jan. 3, becoming the first woman to serve as U.S. Senator from the state of Wyoming. She previously served as Wyoming state treasurer.
In an interview with Morgan Creek Digital partner Anthony Pompliano last week, the senator reiterated her view on bitcoin, stating:
I really see it as a great store of value for individuals, for corporations, and for government … It is an excellent store of value and that it should be part of every individual person’s investment portfolio.
She has plans to educate other members of Congress about bitcoin. “A new financial innovations caucus” has been formed in the Senate that will also discuss bitcoin, Lummis revealed.
The pro-bitcoin senator also looks forward to working with the Treasury Department to help them understand bitcoin. “I visited with Janet Yellen, the new Treasury Secretary, on the phone the other day before her confirmation hearing,” Lummis shared, adding:
This is an area where I think that she has an open mind. She has some of the same concerns that most do in financial technology. There are concerns about criminal or nefarious use of cryptocurrencies.
“So, it’s going to take a lot of work to get to where we can have an open dialogue that is free from the clutter of seeing this knee-jerk reaction to the concern that all crypto is subject to criminal activity to a very large degree,” Lummis opined. She cited findings by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis that only 0.34% of all cryptocurrency transactions last year were related to criminal activities.
Yellen said during her confirmation hearing that cryptocurrencies are mainly used for illicit financing. She then followed up with more comments on the subject and promised “effective” cryptocurrency regulation.
Do you think Senator Lummis will succeed in convincing Janet Yellen that bitcoin is an excellent store of value? Let us know in the comments section below.