Senate hearing shows cryptocurrency’s Ukraine upside

Ukraine makes cryptocurrency claims in Washington

Yesterday, Cryptography was once again in the limelight at the Capitol, but the reception was clearly warm. This is largely due to entrepreneur Michael Chobanian, who did what Volodymyr Zelenskyy did for Ukraine for cryptocurrencies.

De facto witnessing in front of the US Senate Banking Commission, Chobanian praised crypto as a good force, emphasizing the speed and ease with which global crypto rescue campaigns made a difference in embarrassed countries.

However, Crypto critics, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, turned the conversation back to the dark side of Crypto and asked why troops trying to destroy Ukraine could not use a semi-anonymous and unregulated system.

“The first problem we are solving is urgency.” Chobanian, the founder of the Kuna Exchange and the chairman of the Ukrainian Blockchain Association, told the Senate Committee.

• The crypto rescue campaign, which raised over $ 50 million, took 10 minutes to set up, he said. According to him, the hardest part was “going through the bureaucracy” to figure out who was in charge of the Ukrainian Twitter account. But “the moment cryptocurrencies reach these addresses, the government was able to use them immediately. There is no bureaucracy.”
• It would have taken days with traditional finances.Ukraine took several weeks to set up the mechanism Convert cryptography to fiat money For things that couldn’t be purchased with Bitcoin or Ethereum. “Time is very important to my country, which is fighting with bare hands right now,” said Chobanian.
• “We are fighting speed,” he added. “The sooner you buy a helmet, the faster you can buy a bulletproof vest, and the sooner you buy an aid kit, the more people you can save in my country.”

Rogue nations are using cryptography to circumvent sanctions. Senator Warren emphasized at the hearing, expressing concern that cryptocurrencies could also be a weapon for Vladimir Putin and his allies.

• Warren grilled Chainalysis co-founder Jonathan Levin. He said a blockchain analysis company “detected the use of cryptocurrencies in Venezuela, Iran and North Korea.”
• To Putin and his allies, Warren argued that “cryptocurrencies look like a pretty good option.”That’s she Introducing the bill It will allow the president to “sanction foreign crypto companies doing business with sanctioned Russian entities.” So far, there are only democratic co-sponsors.
• Other witnesses, including Chobanian, Levin, and former FinCEN employee Michael Mosier, argued that cryptography was simply an unrealistic option for the Russian oligarchs. Even if the oligarchs succeed in converting fiat money into cryptocurrencies, what would they do, given travel restrictions and sanctions on other wealth, Chobanian asked: “For them, That’s a pretty useless number. “

Ukraine is currently discussing strong cryptocurrencies. Senate hearings emphasized that in fear of cryptography, it also represents hope. And hope is very important for the besieged country. Cryptography and blockchain, Chobanian, said, “It will be the technology we use to rebuild the country.”

— Benjamin Pimentel (Email | twitter).

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With money

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I heard

Rasmus Andersen, European Parliamentarians believe that people should not complain on Twitter. (Then talk to someone in cryptocurrency and do your best!) “If the discussions on important aspects of cryptocurrencies are more constructive and open-minded than some of the tweets made in response to our vote, I’m serious with interested people. Ready to have a discussion. ” he Tweet accordingly To users who posted images of EU member states who voted for Bitcoin ban.

BitcoinFriendly mayor of Miami Francis Suarez I think cryptography is a way to beat other countries. “We have the opportunity for generations to defeat countries such as China, Russia, and other parts of the world trying to steal our technology.” He said At a conference supported by Invenium..

Newly elected President of South Korea Yoon tin cassotte I believe that cryptography should be deregulated. “To realize the infinite possibilities of the virtual asset market, we must review unrealistic and unreasonable regulations. At least to ensure that the virtual asset market is not worried, we are negative. We have to move to a new regulatory system. ” He said In the forum..

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Bitcoin has been around $ 40,000 for most of the past month. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was hit along with other risk assets and then swirled when traders digested the effects of sanctions and the potential for increased demand for crypto. President Biden’s presidential directive also boosted official Washington recognition in cryptography.