Who Are the Congressional Representatives Impeding Efforts to Legitimize Digital Currency?

Operation Choke Point 2.0 was—in the words of Rep. Dan Meuser—the Biden administration’s attempt “to target and debank the digital asset ecosystem.”

In July of 2024, President Trump became the first United States President to address a Bitcoin event. Before thousands of attendees at the Bitcoin 2024 Convention in Nashville, Trump outlined his plan to make America “the crypto capital” of the world. 

“As President, I will immediately shut down Operation Choke Point 2.0,” Trump said to thunderous applause. “And no longer will your government sit by and watch as Bitcoin jobs and businesses flee to other countries because America’s laws are too unclear and too tough and too angry and too stiff.”

After winning reelection, President Trump has indeed embarked on the first steps towards making that promise a reality. Days after his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order establishing the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which will “develop a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluate the creation of a strategic national digital assets stockpile,” and “[revoke] the Biden administration's digital assets executive order framework for international engagement on the industry.” 

Then, just recently, the President upgraded that “stockpile” to a “reserve.” On Truth social, Trump announced that the nation’s official “strategic crypto reserve” will include Bitcoin, Ether, and several other prominent tokens. But promoting cryptocurrency remains only half the battle. The other half is contending with the opposition—a small but influential group of U.S. Congressmen and women who have staunchly opposed efforts to create a concise regulatory framework for crypto and, by extension, hoping to keep rules on its usage unclear.

So what of Operation Choke Point 2.0? Earlier in the month, the House Financial Services Committee began an investigation, led by Subcommittee Chairman Dan Meuser (R-PA) to examine the Biden Administration's Operation Choke Point 2.0, which was—in Meuser’s words—an attempt by Democrats “to target and debank the digital asset ecosystem.”

“Biden regulators resorted to vague, interpretive regulatory letters, threatening banks with negative examination scores, and fines if they continue their partnership with digital asset companies,” said Meuser. “This was a serious overreach, one that not only undermined innovation, but directly harmed consumers by restricting their access to new and beneficial financial products.”

But, of course, it’s not just former President Biden. By the beginning of 2023, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had already been dubbed the leader of Washington D.C.’s “anti-crypto army.” Warren has expressed her concerns regarding the crypto market and the protections surrounding it, stating that “anything Congress does to legitimize and grow the crypto market must have strong protections so we do not increase money-making opportunities for Iran and other adversaries.” 

Coincidentally, Massachusetts is home to another one of crypto’s biggest adversaries—Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA). Earlier this year, Lynch was named lead Democrat of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence by his colleagues. He states that he is looking forward to working with his team on “protecting American consumers against financial risks stemming from the rapid development of cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.” 

There is also Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) whom the Los Angeles Times was calling “Congress’ leading crypto skeptic” as early as 2022. Sherman has called cryptocurrency “a meme you invest in, in the hopes that you can sell it to somebody else before it tanks. That’s the nice thing about a Ponzi scheme.”

Add to the growing list U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Boozman (R-AR), who during Biden’s tenure introduced Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022, which would have defined most cryptocurrencies as commodities rather than securities. The bill failed to pass before the 117th Congress adjourned in January 2023, but it marks yet another attempt to delegitimize digital currency. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) were also cosponsors.

The majority of politicians in the United States are either in favor of or neutral to the idea of cryptocurrency. As of the beginning of last year, only 18 United States senators were considered “strongly supportive” of cryptocurrency. Of these, 14 were Republicans and only 4 were Democrats. When we include members of the House in this data, the trend continues to show that, although not in all cases, Republicans have been considerably more bullish on crypto than Democrats.  

President Trump has remained undeterred by the opposition. After the enactment of Trump’s first executive order, the White House issued a statement that "President Trump will help make the United States the center of digital financial technology by halting aggressive enforcement actions and regulatory overreach that have stifled crypto innovation under previous administrations." 

Perianne Boring, CEO and Founder of The Digital Chamber which promotes digital assets, has praised the Trump Administration and its pro-crypto approach, which she believes will only benefit the United States economy. 

"This is a huge development for Bitcoin and digital assets. We're coming off of four years of the Biden administration trying to, you know, effectively shut down and push out the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem from the United States,” she proclaims. ”The support from the highest levels of government legitimizing the importance and the promise of this technology is incredibly important for our economic security and our national security."