Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley voted with his colleagues last night in advancing the first major bill that would more closely regulate cryptocurrency.
In a conference call with Iowa reporters this morning, Grassley was asked if he’d personally invest in crypto.
“I would not invest, but that doesn’t mean that that’s got any sort of indication of what I think of this bill,” Grassley says. “I think that the bill is needed.”
Grassley says he has no quarrel with elected officials, including the president, investing in digital currency, as long as they abide by the STOCK Act of 2012. It bans the use of non-public information for private profit, like insider trading, by members of Congress and other government workers.
“I would see it as an investment, just like we can invest in the stock market now. We have to report all of our transactions,” Grassley says. “That’s no problem for me because I have my investments in mutual funds, so I don’t trade, so I don’t have to make these reports.”
All Senate Democrats and two Republicans initially blocked the new crypto bill from passing, saying the regulations weren’t strong enough. An amendment that also passed last night would allow President Trump and his family members to continue with their various crypto ventures. Grassley, a Republican, says he has no objection to politicians investing in cryptocurrency.
“Several members of Congress are quite regularly doing this,” Grassley says, “and as long as they abide by the STOCK Act, it seems to me it’s legitimate.”
That bill, signed into law by President Obama in 2012, stands for Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge.
The new crypto bill, called the GENIUS Act, would regulate what are known as stablecoins, a sort of cryptocurrency that’s tied to assets like U.S. dollars. Monday’s vote was procedural and the bill has not yet won final passage in the Senate.