A possible ban on crypto wallets could have serious consequences, as some US parliamentarians fear.
Several US Congressmen have spoken out against an allegedly planned regulation by the US Treasury Department that would severely restrict self-managed crypto wallets
In a corresponding letter to US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, the four members of the parliamentary Bitcoin Revolution group on December 9th demand the disclosure of more precise details about the ” possible ban “.
MEPs Warren Davidson, Tom Emmer, Ted Budd and Scott Perry fear in their letter that such regulation:
“Could prevent American market leadership and important involvement in a technological innovation that affects the entire global financial system.”
Compared to Cointelegraph, Davidson says that any plans by the Treasury Department are potentially more dangerous than the so-called ” STABLE Act “, a draft law that should in turn create stricter requirements for the operators of stablecoins. Because as the MP from the state of Ohio explains, the Treasury Secretary would have the necessary political power to enforce such a wallet ban by law without first having to obtain a parliamentary majority.
Davidson considers this to be a mistake, however:
“The big problem is that self-managed wallets are required for all kinds of blockchain applications. The ability to move a crypto token without an intermediary is one of the fundamental properties of blockchain. One of the reasons blockchain has become so popular and growing as a technology is the ability to act peer-to-peer. This is a cornerstone of blockchain technology. ”
In addition, in their letter, Congressmen argue that crypto-technology could rather help law enforcement agencies track down illegal transactions:
“Such a regulation could undermine the Treasury Department’s efforts to stop financial crime, both in terms of the traditional financial system and the crypto industry.”