A group of technology experts have lobbied members of the U.S. Congress to take heed of the dangers associated with the crypto industry. 

According to a report by Gizmodo, 26 computer scientists and engineers have issued a warning to 12 U.S. lawmakers about crypto. The letter, which was addressed to “U.S. Congressional Leadership, Committee Chairs and Ranking Members”, urges the politicians to block efforts to create a “regulatory safe haven” for crypto and instead focus on “responsible fintech policy.”

Here is an excerpt:

“Today, we write to you urging the Committee to take a critical, skeptical approach toward industry claims that crypto-assets (sometimes called cryptocurrencies, crypto tokens, or web3) are an innovative technology that is unreservedly good. We urge you to resist pressure from digital asset industry financiers, lobbyists, and boosters to create a regulatory safe haven for these risky, flawed, and unproven digital financial instruments and to instead take an approach that protects the public interest and ensures technology is deployed in genuine service to the needs of ordinary citizens.

“We strongly disagree with the narrative—peddled by those with a financial stake in the crypto-asset industry—that these technologies represent a positive financial innovation and are in any way suited to solving the financial problems facing ordinary Americans.“

Speaking with Financial Times, Harvard professor Bruce Schneier, one of the 26 people who signed the letter, argued that blockchain advocates are making claims that are not true. 

He said, 

The claims that the blockchain advocates make are not true. It’s not secure, it’s not decentralized. Any system where you forget your password and you lose your life savings is not a safe system.

The report claims crypto lobbying in Washington has quadrupled since 2018, with advocates for the industry having spent a collective $4.4 million on federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2022. 

As noted by Gizmodo, the letter comes in the wake of the high-profile collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD, which fell more than 90% in value after once being thought to be pegged to the value of $1. 

Newsletter

To make sure you receive a FREE weekly newsletter that features highlights from our most popular stories, click here.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

Image Credit

Featured Image by “12019” via Pixabay.com