Tech Experts Lobby Washington Criticizing Crypto, Blockchain

A letter from 26 technologists refers to crypto as risky, flawed and unproven.

AccessTimeIconJun 1, 2022 at 8:49 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:26 p.m. UTC
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A group of tech experts and academics wrote to U.S. lawmakers criticizing cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in the first concerted attempt to counter lobbying by the crypto industry.

  • The 26 signatories include Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza and principal engineer at Google Cloud, Kelsey Hightower.
  • "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," the letter says.
  • The letter is addressed to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as well as leading Sens. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who have both been supportive of the crypto industry.
  • Crypto companies spent around $9 million on lobbying in 2021, more than triple the $2.8 million spent the previous year. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was the biggest spender accounting for $1.5 million of this figure.

UPDATE (14:10 UTC June 1): Removes FT references and links to letter published online


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Jamie Crawley

Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.


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