Top Republican lawmaker explains how Congress is warming up to crypto

Episode 4 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

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Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., newly elected House GOP whip and a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has long been at the forefront of shaping the conversation regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the United States.

In this episode of The Scoop, Rep. Emmer provides an overview of how Congressional attitudes towards crypto are shifting in light of the tumultuous events of 2022, and how the new asset class is gaining support across the political spectrum.

According to Emmer, the Congressional Blockchain Caucus has been spreading the message that the collapse of FTX is not representative of the broader crypto industry:

“We have been pushing back on this nonsense that FTX is indicative of crypto. It’s not. It is as old as finance, it is centralized finance, and the abuses that happen when you have an opaque operation with a very small group of people that are running it on the inside.”

Congressional inquiries regarding regulators’ lack of oversight in the case of FTX have come from both sides of the aisle, with Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) officially calling on the US Government Accountability Office to investigate the SEC. 

Despite representing opposing political parties, Rep. Emmer explains that crypto is one issue where he and Rep. Torres see eye-to-eye:

“Ritchie Torres and Tom Emmer could not be more different — where we come from, our lives, from what I know — and yet, we could not be more alike when it comes to this issue of crypto.”

During this episode, Chaparro and Rep. Emmer also discuss:

• Why digital assets empower the individual
• How the SEC could have prevented FTX
• What crypto regulation to expect in 2023

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.

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