Key U.S. Senate Republican Tim Scott Makes Crypto-Fan Debut

The Senate Banking Committee has yet to enact cryptocurrency legislation despite progress made in the U.S. House of Representatives this year, but top Republican Tim Scott has joined the ranks of those advocating for crypto-friendly regulations.

He and other U.S. lawmakers gave speeches in support of the industry at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Tennessee, with several speakers, including Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy and Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, specifically advocating for Bitcoin to be used as a reserve asset for the U.S.

The event is set to feature the participation of candidate and former President Donald Trump, who has recently turned his long-standing resistance to crypto into a strong advocacy.

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee and who could be in position to become the committee’s next chairman, argued during a speech at Bitcoin 2024 on Friday that the government should “make it easier” for the crypto industry to innovate in the United States.

It’s a line that Republican lawmakers have been repeating oft-repeatedly lately, but Scott, a direct counterpart to cryptocurrency skeptic Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), has remained relatively silent on the subject while that committee has become a bottleneck in U.S. legislation.

He broke that reticence with a live crypto debut at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tenn., touting the benefits of digital assets. Scott could become chairman of that committee, which oversees U.S. financial regulation, if Republicans retake the Senate majority after the November elections.

“We have to get rid of the people who are in our way,” he said, speaking alongside U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and slamming Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler as a crypto-policy obstacle. “Chairman Gensler, God have mercy… Hit the road, Jack, and don’t come back, never, never, never again.”

Before Friday, Scott, one of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination this year, had remained relatively quiet on crypto issues, even as Democrats on the committee — like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — had become outspoken critics of the industry. The potential for him to seize the presidential gavel on next year’s Senate Banking panel came up repeatedly during his time on stage with Lummis, and if it did, he said he would ensure his legislation got a vote immediately, “liberating bitcoin here at home.”

Lummis has recently reportedly pushed for a bill that would require the Federal Reserve to hold some bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. He did not delve into the topic during his appearance Friday, but many at the event hope former President Donald Trump will mention the idea when he appears at the conference on Saturday.

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“The innovations of Bitcoin are now coming more clearly into play in the U.S. Senate, and it is becoming increasingly clear who wants to protect and regulate that innovation,” Lummis said.

Legislation regulating crypto has passed the House of Representatives but is currently stalled in the Senate. Advocates hope something could be passed by the end of the year, but the odds are slim.

As for new crypto legislation at this stage of the congressional term — with the 2024 elections looming and the term rapidly moving toward its end — it’s unlikely to find enough momentum to become law, but such efforts can sometimes be a prelude to deliberation for future bills.

Senators took the stage just after Michael Saylor, the chief executive of software firm MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest institutional holder of bitcoin, argued that the U.S. should aim to acquire 4 million BTC to shore up its Treasury and build its fiscal strength. He said only one or two countries would have the opportunity to benefit from the token’s massive future growth on that scale.

“Bitcoin is not the solution to all our problems,” Saylor said. “It’s the solution to half our problems.”

Read More: Germany Almost Completes Bitcoin Sale After Recent Moves, Holds Less Than 5K Tokens

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood also praised the idea of ​​a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the US

“If they do this right, so this is not going to be an instrument of monetary policy at all, it’s just going to be reflected in our balance sheet… this could be transformative,” he said.

Also at the conference, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, a longtime supporter of digital assets, pledged to make bitcoin a strategic reserve asset if elected president (though polls still show him a long way off). Last-minute talks were reportedly held with representatives of Vice President Kamala Harris about attending, but she will not be attending.