Tom Emmer criticizes Treasury Department plea for greater authority over digital asset space

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Rep. Emmer (R-Minn), who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, criticized the U.S. Treasury Department for seeking greater authority over the digital asset space to combat illicit activity such as terrorist financing.

Speaking at a policy summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Blockchain Association, Emmer accused the Treasury of having a savior complex.

“I’ve always had this attitude—beware of the self-proclaimed savior that rides in on a white horse and tells you I’m here to protect you,” said Emmer, as reported by The Block.

Irony abounds, as Emmer has consistently presented himself as a self-appointed savior for the other side of the argument, namely libertarian capitalism, innovation, and the digital asset space in particular.

The comments by the Republican congressman from Minnesota were made in response to a speech from Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, also at the Blockchain Association Summit, who told attendees that the Treasury seeks expanded authority to crack down on sanction violations and terrorist financing.

Adeyemo particularly singled out offshore “dollar-backed stablecoin providers” for criticism, saying, “we cannot permit offshore financial services providers to use jurisdiction-evasion tactics to avoid complying with our laws…We are working to close these gaps and others.”

Emmer pushed back on Adeyemo’s recommendations, accusing the Treasury of wanting to “swallow this all up into the surveillance security state that they’ve created. We just can’t let it happen. This is Congress’s purview, not his.”

In a similar anti-surveillance state vein, Emmer also reiterated his opposition to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which he described in a fireside chat moderated by Marco Santori, chief legal officer for Kraken exchange, as “nothing more than a surveillance tool.”

He warned that when it comes to CBDCs, “this is a very dangerous slope that we’re going down.”

Crypto-advocate-in-chief

It’s perhaps no surprise to hear Emmer again playing devil’s advocate in the digital assets vs regulation debate. The Minnesota congressman has established a track record and reputation as one of the industry’s strongest supporters on the Hill, even being described as the “crypto king of Congress.”

An example is his vocal opposition to the work of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its chairman, Gary Gensler, who has spearheaded a U.S. fight back against bad actors in the digital asset space via what has been described as a ‘regulation by enforcement’ approach to oversight.

When Gensler appeared before the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) in September, Emmer, in a somewhat embarrassing display of partisan grandstanding, barraged the SEC chair with a string of leading questions, demanding just yes or no answers and cutting Gensler off if he attempted to give a substantive answer.

Instead of allowing Gensler to give full, nuanced responses, Emmer used his time to berate the SEC chair, saying, “I’m convinced you are not an impartial regulator. Instead, it’s clear that you are working to consolidate your own power even though it means crushing opportunities for everyday Americans and, frankly, the financial future of this country.” Quite the accusation against someone who has made it very clear their primary goal is to root out fraud, manipulation, and illicit activity in the digital asset space.

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