U.S.
Sen.
Tim
Scott
(R-S.C.),
the
top
Republican
on
the
Senate
Banking
Committee
who
may
be
in
position
to
be
its
next
chairman,
argued
at
a
Bitcoin
2024
appearance
on
Friday
that
the
government
should
“make
it
easy”
for
the
crypto
industry
to
innovate
in
the
U.S.
It’s
a
common
refrain
from
Republican
lawmakers
these
days,
but
Scott
–
the
direct
counterpart
of
crypto
skeptic
Chairman
Sherrod
Brown
(D-Ohio)
–
had
stayed
relatively
quiet
on
crypto
as
that
committee
became
the
bottleneck
for
U.S.
legislation.
He
broke
that
reticence
with
his
lively
crypto
debut
at
Bitcoin
2024
in
Nashville,
Tenn.,
where
he
shouted
the
merits
of
digital
assets.
Scott
could
become
chairman
of
that
committee,
which
oversees
U.S.
financial
regulation,
if
Republicans
retake
the
Senate
majority
after
the
November
elections.
“We
have
to
get
rid
of
the
folks
who
are
in
the
way,”
he
said,
speaking
alongside
U.S.
Sen.
Cynthia
Lummis
(R-Wyo.),
and
lambasting
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
Chair
Gary
Gensler
as
a
crypto-policy
roadblock.
“Chairman
Gensler,
lord
have
mercy
…
Hit
the
road,
Jack,
and
don’t
you
come
back,
no
more,
no
more,
no
more.”
Before
Friday,
Scott,
who’d
been
among
those
running
for
the
Republican
presidential
nomination
this
year,
had
been
relatively
quiet
on
crypto
issues,
even
as
Democrats
on
the
committee
–
such
as
Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren
(D-Mass.)
–
became
outspoken
critics
of
the
industry.
His
potential
for
grabbing
the
chairman
gavel
on
the
Senate
Banking
panel
next
year
repeatedly
came
up
during
his
time
on
stage
with
Lummis,
and
he
said
that
if
it
happened,
he’d
make
sure
her
legislation
gets
a
prompt
vote,
“setting
bitcoin
free
here
at
home.”
Lummis
has
reportedly
been
pushing
recently
for
a
bill
that
would
call
for
the
Federal
Reserve
to
hold
some
bitcoin
as
a
strategic
reserve
asset.
She
didn’t
get
into
the
topic
during
her
appearance
on
Friday,
though
many
at
the
event
hope
former
President
Donald
Trump
mentions
that
idea
when
he’s
set
to
appear
at
the
conference
on
Saturday.
“The
innovations
of
Bitcoin
are
now
becoming
more
clear
in
the
U.S.
Senate,
and
it’s
also
becoming
more
clear
who
wants
to
protect
the
innovation
and
who
wants
to
regulate
it,”
Lummis
said.
Legislation
to
regulate
crypto
has
passed
in
the
House
of
Representatives
but
is
so
far
languishing
in
the
Senate.
Advocates
are
still
hoping
something
can
get
through
at
the
end
of
the
year,
but
the
odds
remain
slim.
As
for
new
crypto
legislation
at
this
stage
of
the
congressional
session
–
with
the
2024
election
looming
and
the
session
speeding
toward
its
end
–
it’s
unlikely
to
find
sufficient
traction
to
become
law,
but
such
efforts
can
sometimes
begin
a
negotiation
for
future
bills.
The
senators
took
the
stage
soon
after
Michael
Saylor,
executive
chairman
of
software
firm
MicroStrategy
(MSTR),
the
largest
corporate
holder
of
bitcoin,
advocated
that
the
U.S.
should
aim
to
acquire
4
million
BTC
to
boost
its
Treasury
and
build
its
financial
strength.
He
said
only
one
or
two
nations
will
have
an
opportunity
to
enjoy
what
he
described
as
the
token’s
massive
future
growth
to
that
extent.
“Bitcoin
is
not
the
solution
to
all
our
problems,”
Saylor
said.
“It
is
the
solution
to
half
our
problems.”
ARK
Invest
CEO
Cathie
Wood
also
praised
the
notion
of
a
strategic
bitcoin
reserve
for
the
U.S.
“If
they
do
it
in
the
right
way,
meaning
this
is
not
an
instrument
of
monetary
policy
at
all,
but
it
simply
goes
on
our
balance
sheet
…
this
could
be
transformational,”
she
said.
The
conference
also
saw
Robert
F.
Kennedy,
the
independent
presidential
candidate
who
has
been
a
longtime
supporter
of
digital
assets,
promise
to
make
bitcoin
a
strategic
reserve
asset
if
he’s
elected
president
(though
polls
suggest
he
remains
a
long-shot
candidate).
There
had
reportedly
been
last-minute
discussions
with
representatives
of
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
about
attending,
but
she
won’t
be
appearing.
