Senator Lummis says Bitcoin is a commodity and will become a currency soon

The U.S. Senator from Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis, precocious championed Bitcoin arsenic a aboriginal currency successful an interview. The interview started with the question, “Is Bitcoin a currency oregon commodity?” Senator Lummis rapidly and confidently responded:

“I ain [Bitcoin], a commodity. I judge it volition beryllium currency someday, but astatine this constituent of its existence, it’s a commodity conscionable similar cattle, wheat, and gold. At immoderate point, it’s going to go a means of payment…and it’s going to hap truly fast.”

To explicate her confidence, Lummis referred to the motorboat of the Bitcoin outgo protocol, Lightning Network. She noted that Bitcoin came retired of a whitepaper that didn’t see means of payment. Lightning Network filled the spread by providing a outgo method for Bitcoin which should pb to further innovation successful the outgo space.

Is it a currency if it’s denominated successful U.S. dollars?

Following up connected Lummis’ arguments, NBC quality writer Chuck Todd said that Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies are denominated successful U.S. dollars, and truthful they would not beryllium capable to behave arsenic currencies.

In response, Lummis claimed that Chris Giancarlo intentionally made this denomination during his tenure arsenic the Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to support the US dollars’ planetary status. Lummis said:

“[Giancarlo] Wisely recognized that we privation to spot Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies to beryllium denominated successful US dollars…I deliberation that’s tremendously important due to the fact that we privation the US dollar to proceed to beryllium the planetary currency.”

How does it get regulated?

Accepting the duality, Todd aboriginal asked astir the suitable regulatory attack to Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies. Lummis, again, confidently argued that it would beryllium regulated some arsenic a commodity and a stock.

She said that specified a regulatory proposition had been made successful the measure drafted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and herself and would beryllium presented successful April. She added that:

“It volition beryllium regulated by both, conscionable the mode existent accepted assets are. CFTC volition modulate it arsenic a commodity, [and it] volition besides person spot markets and futures markets. The SEC [the US Securities and Exchange Commission] broadside volition modulate for user extortion and different indispensable regulations to marque definite purchasers are not taxable to fraud.”

She besides said that their measure included a method to forestall projects from being unopen down owed to fearfulness of the unknown. According to Lummis, the caller measure volition besides suggest creating a regulated sandbox situation to let radical to physique and innovate freely.