“I encourage my colleagues to understand Sam Bankman-Fried’s con for what it is — a failure of centralization, a failure of business ethics, and a crime. It is not a failure of technology.”
Tom Emmer is a United States Republican politician who has made himself known as a proponent of the crypto and blockchain space. Following his birth in the U.S. state of Indiana in 1961, Emmer spent his early years in Minnesota. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks before moving on to William Mitchell College of Law, where he earned a JD.
Now a father of seven, Emmer had an extensive legal career before transitioning into politics. After about six years as a state representative for Minnesota’s House of Representatives, Emmer joined Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he has served since 2015. He has put forth several efforts to fight for crypto and blockchain regulation that protects participants while also giving the sector room to breathe and grow.
The crypto and blockchain space had a difficult 2022, seeing multiple negative events that rattled the industry and sent shockwaves throughout numerous companies. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler faced criticism for the tough, arguably unclear way he managed the sector’s regulation. Representative Emmer called Gensler out on multiple occasions in 2022 regarding his concerns about Genser’s leadership.
In March, Emmer joined a bipartisan group of representatives in sending a letter to Gensler noting that the SEC was stifling the crypto space. Following the collapse of FTX later in the year, Emmer followed up with further comments on his issues with Gensler.
Emmer’s scrutiny of Gensler and the SEC during the year related in part to their compliance demands for companies within the crypto and blockchain industry. In December, Emmer proposed circling back to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a bill he worked on in 2021 — but that was not enacted — that looked to ease regulatory requirements on particular crypto and blockchain entities.
Regulation has been an ongoing point of discussion in the space due to crypto’s uniqueness and youth. Given the complications and stressors of 2022, U.S. regulators may have a lot to sort through in 2023 in terms of clarifying rules or enacting new guidelines. As a political figure who has shown sensitivity to the young crypto and blockchain industry, Emmer might logically look to be an advocate.
Emmer has already noted his thoughts on the adverse effects of setting the regulatory compliance bar too high, so he may push for regulation that protects the crypto space and its participants without stamping out its growth. 2023 could also see Emmer look to produce other bills that balance investor protection and freedom, and he will likely continue scrutinizing Gensler and the SEC.
