Technology experts and academics are targeting lawmakers in a campaign to counter lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill by the cryptocurrency industry, Financial Times reported on Wednesday (June 1).
A letter signed by 26 professionals — including Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza and principal engineer at Google Cloud Kelsey Hightower — lambasted cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
The letter was sent to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon). Toomey and Wyden have previously shown support for some of the crypto industry’s objectives.
See also: Competition Experts Worldwide Discuss Crypto, Antitrust Strategies
“We’re counter-lobbying, that’s what this letter is about,” signatory and software developer Stephen Diehl told FT. “The crypto industry has its people, they say what they want to the politicians.”
FinTech’s disruption of existing financial markets has hit a nerve with lawmakers around the world, but it is the infiltration of cryptocurrencies that is the most troublesome for watchdogs, PYMNTS reported last week.
To gain favor in Washington D.C., The crypto industry shelled out $9 million for lobbyists between 2018 and 2021, up from $2.2 million, according to data from the U.S. Congressional Lobbying Disclosure database by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. The number of lobbyists for the industry also went up during that time period from 115 to 320.
Read more: G-7 Calls for ‘Consistent and Comprehensive’ Crypto Regulation
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase led the lobbying push, spending $1.5 million last year on 26 lobbyists, per the report. Meta, Visa and PayPal have also spent money on lobbying for the crypto sector.
“We urge you to resist pressure from digital asset industry financiers, lobbyists and boosters to create a regulatory safe haven for these risky, flawed and unproven digital financial instruments,” read the letter, which was seen by FT.
Related: Biden’s Executive Order Set to Fast-Track Crypto Policy
President Joe Biden signed an executive order in March aimed at establishing a single, government-wide policy on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The order covers a range of areas including boosting consumer protection and cracking down on crypto-related illicit activities.
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