US Congressman Calls for Ban on Crypto Buying and Mining

A U.S. lawmaker has called for a blanket ban on cryptocurrency buying.

Congressman Brad Sherman is no stranger to controversial statements on the subject - back in March he called cryptocurrencies "a crock" - and during the Wednesday hearing of a subcommittee for the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, he went so far as to advocate keeping Americans out of the market entirely.

"We should prohibit U.S. persons from buying or mining cryptocurrencies," the California Democrat declared.

One of the panelists, Norbert Michel, director for the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation, pushed back against the idea that criminal use should define cryptocurrencies as a whole.

To quickly recap: a number of central banks around the world have been investigating the idea of using some of the technology concepts behind bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as part of new, wholly digital money systems.

Other committee members couldn't help but agree that the idea, at the very least, raised more fundamental questions about how blockchain and cryptocurrencies actually work.

On a more positive note, Dr. Eswar Prasad, senior professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University, argued that the existence of cryptocurrencies had the potential to impact the financial services system, particularly the payments system, in positive ways.

According to Prasad, cryptocurrencies could "Make transactions much easier ... and bring down the cost," but the benefits are limited at the moment.

Just prior to dispersing the attendees, chairman Andy Barr noted that cryptocurrencies will "Continue to have a greater and greater impact on our financial system," making it a topic the committee would likely have to "Revisit" once again.

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