Democrats in the US House of Representatives, including Congressman Brad Sherman and Maxine Waters, express concerns over self-hosted wallets being used to facilitate criminal activities, likening them to bearer bonds banned in the 1980s.
Chairman of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Capital Markets and Investor Protection Subcommittee, Congressman Brad Sherman, stated that encrypted self-custody wallets share similarities with banned bearer bonds from the 1980s, potentially facilitating criminal activities. He pointed out that non-custodial wallets could enable illegal campaign contributions without the recipient's knowledge.
Ranking member Maxine Waters expressed similar concerns, noting that these self-hosted wallets are not much different from money hidden in a wallet or briefcase, storing and instantly transferring large sums of money. The comments followed the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee's passing of the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023, the Keep Your Coins Act of 2023, and five other finance-related bills. These bills aim to regulate payment stablecoins' issuance and ensure that cryptocurrency users can keep their assets in self-custodial wallets.
