Banning cryptocurrencies could be one of the ways in which the United States could tackle the national security concerns that digital currencies rise. According to senate banking chairman, Sherrod Brown, banning cryptocurrencies could be one of the ways to address the national security concerns related to virtual currencies. The information was released by The Hill a few hours ago. 

Could the U.S. Ban Crypto?

The United States might ban crypto in order to deal with the current challenges presented by the cryptocurrency market. According to Sen. Sherrod Brown, maybe banning digital currencies could be the solution to this problem. 

On that matter, The Hill quoted him:

“Maybe banning it, although banning it is very difficult because it will go offshore and who knows how that will work?”

However, there is no clear posture on what to do with virtual currencies at the national level. Other jurisdictions such as the European Union (EU) are trying to regulate the market with clear laws and regulations. However, the United States continues to face multiple challenges when it comes to the regulatory environment linked to digital assets. 

Brown explained that the crypto industry is complicated and unregulated. Indeed, he said that virtual currencies represent a danger to the national security of the United States and consumers. 

“Educating my colleagues and trying to educate the public about crypto and the dangers that it presents to our security as a nation and the consumers that get hoodwinked by them,” said Brown. 

It is worth pointing out that regulators have increased their attention to digital currencies in this bear market as multiple protocols and projects collapsed, affecting investors in the United States and other countries. For example, earlier in 2022, the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem collapsed, creating one of the hardest moments for investors this year. 

In early November, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange imploded. The FTT digital asset fell by over 90% in just a matter of days. This affected a large number of crypto users that held funds on this crypto exchange and that relied on the FTT digital currency. 

Multiple virtual currencies have been affected as well. It is worth considering that other projects could be affected in the future. This month, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has been in the eye of the storm due to its proof-of-reserves. Despite the FUD and large pressure received by this exchange, nothing happened to BNB (despite a small drop) or Binance. 

While the United States is trying to regulate the market and think about how to deal with the current expansion of the crypto industry. Meanwhile, other countries like El Salvador and the Central African Republic (CAR) have legalized Bitcoin (BTC). Indeed, Bitcoin is considered legal tender in these two countries, showing that it is also possible to integrate BTC into the local economy. 

At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin is being traded at close to $16,570 and it has a market capitalization of $318 billion.