The self-custody of cryptocurrencies has been hailed by U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson as the cure for the scam at crypto exchange FTX. The "Keep Your Coins Act," which intends to "defend self-custody from erroneous attempts to restrict it," is the legislation he is promoting.
American Lawmaker Promotes Self-Custody
Following the demise of bitcoin exchange FTX, Congressman Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) has promoted cryptocurrency self-custody. On Wednesday, he tweeted:
"The remedy for FTX's deception is self-custody, and my Keep Your Coins Act will shield it from ill-informed attempts to limit it."
The congressman said:
"Anyone attacking self-custody is telling you they reject individual freedom."
The congressman responded to a tweet asking why new rules were necessary because people could already exercise self-custody:
"Treasury secretaries in the past and present have talked about outlawing self-custody, or "self-hosted wallets." Many members of Congress, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have suggested restrictions. To defend freedom, we must actively defend it, much like the Bill of Rights."
In February, the Ohio congressman introduced the "Keep Your Coins Act." Specifically, this proposal would prevent any federal agency from promulgating a rule that would impede a person's ability to operate as self-custodian, the legislator said at the time, noting that the bill wants to "preserve Americans' right to privacy in trading with crypto assets."
The "Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act" was unveiled by Senator Elizabeth Warren last week. It is "the most blatant attack on the personal freedom and privacy of bitcoin users and developers we've yet seen," claim proponents of the technology.
Davidson stated last week that he thinks Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, was detained prior to the House and Senate hearings because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the head of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is one legislator who recently indicated that cryptocurrency might be outlawed. He did admit that outlawing cryptocurrency would be "extremely tough" because it would likely migrate overseas.
Rep. Davidson tweeted in response to Senator Brown's call to outlaw cryptocurrency:
"The Senate Banking Committee needs a new chairman, Ohio needs a new senator, and Congress needs to grasp that by doing nothing, it is intentionally exposing investors, consumers, and entrepreneurs to unnecessary danger."
The ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, agreed with Davidson. The Pennsylvania senator emphasized: "Short of instituting harsh, totalitarian regulations, cryptocurrencies cannot be stopped. The idea of outright banning cryptocurrency is deeply stupid, not to mention impossible. The technology would just move overseas if we tried.
