Ask a Pol crypto

By: Matt Laslo
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  • Asking your lawmakers your crypto questions at your US Capitol.

    www.askapolcrypto.com
    Matt Laslo
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Episodes
  • Elizabeth Warren: regs needed to "reduce the use of crypto by terrorists and drug traffickers"

    Elizabeth Warren: regs needed to "reduce the use of crypto by terrorists and drug traffickers"
    Feb 1 2025
    Who?Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — Senate Banking & Finance CommitteesLISTEN: Laslo & WarrenAsk a Pol asks:What do you think about the incoming Trump administration’s new tone on crypto?Key Warren:“I keep wondering when someone's going to explain what crypto rules they plan to put in place to reduce the use of crypto by terrorists and drug traffickers,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “So far, I'm just not hearing anything.”ICYMI — Crypto regulation has been in motion in 2024Caught our ear:“I don't have any problem with people who want to buy and sell crypto,” Warren tells us. “But putting in a handful of rules that suggest to the American people that trading crypto is safe at the same time that defrauding people is still easy, creates a real problem.”Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Elizabeth WarrenSCENE: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo runs into Sen. Warren in the basement of the US Capitol before proceeding to hop on her elevator as she heads to the Senate floor to vote. Matt Laslo: “Hey, ma’am.”Elizabeth Warren: “How you doing?”ML: “Curious your thoughts on this new tone on crypto from the incoming administration?”EW: “Well, I keep wondering when someone's going to explain what crypto rules they plan to put in place to reduce the use of crypto by terrorists and drug traffickers.”ML: “Yeah?” EW: “So far, I'm just not hearing anything.”ML: “And are you — I mean, how were you and what can you do to change that conversation? Because it seems like the Trumps are now invested and all-in, seemingly.”EW: “I don't have any problem with people who want to buy and sell crypto.”ML: “Yeah?” EW: “And putting rules in place that give Americans more confidence when they do that can be a good idea, so long as those rules are meaningful. But putting in a handful of rules that suggest to the American people that trading crypto is safe at the same time that defrauding people is still easy, creates a real problem.”Support our independent journalism, please! Find us on Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!ML: “You probably missed it, but 60 Minutes had a segment on crypto?”EW: “No, I didn't. I'll have to look.”ICYMI — Sen. Lummis begs to differ with Ms. WarrenML: “Well it’s interesting, it looked back at the election and they were kind of flexing, and now they're like, ‘Hey, we got $100 million going into the midterms’ that they're already kind of holding over lawmakers. EW: “Yep, I gotta —ML: “But they had seemed to…”EW: “I gotta go.”Warner darts for the Senate floor. Bloomberg reporter: “Is there anything you want to…”Warren breezed past him and entered the Senate chamber. Andrey Beregovskiy contributed to this report. What should we ask lawmakers this week? Let us know!Content posted at AskaPolcrypto.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us. Get full access to Ask a Pol crypto at www.askapolcrypto.com/subscribe
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    3 mins
  • "It was the right thing to do," Sen. Lummis says of Trump's pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht

    "It was the right thing to do," Sen. Lummis says of Trump's pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht
    Jan 24 2025
    Who?Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) — Senate Banking and Commerce Committees LISTEN: Laslo & LummisAsk a Pol asks:What do you make of President Donald Trump's pardon of Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht? Key Lummis:“The more I learned about it, the more I think it was the right thing to do,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “This is one where the punishment truly didn't fit the crime, and so I think this was the right thing to do. And I've never met him — I've met his mother; very nice woman, very — she's not in denial. I mean, she knows that her son was dealing drugs using the Bitcoin blockchain. But two life sentences for — it just seems wrong.” ICYMI — Lummis shares her optimism for new crypto-friendly CongressCaught our ear:“I think that the people who are being appointed reflect President Trump's less — he's not hostile,” Lummis tells us. “And I'm not saying he's wildly pro-digital assets, but he's not hostile.”Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Cynthia LummisSCENE: Initially, Ask a Pol bumps into Sen. Cynthia Lummis outside the Senate chamber, and we ask our main question. She tells us she’s still gotta vote and to hold tight. After voting, Sen. Lummis approaches us and immediately jumps into answering our question. Cynthia Lummis: “You know, the more I learned about it, the more I think it was the right thing to do. I did not realize that — although this Ross [Ulbricht], I forget his last name…”Matt Laslo: “Yeah, it’s hard to pronounce.”CL: “…Ross — or Russ? — was clearly dealing drugs on the Bitcoin blockchain or using it. You know, clearly he deserved to be prosecuted, and he was guilty. But he got two life sentences. Two of the FBI agents that investigated him stole some of that Bitcoin.”ML: “Really?”CL: “Yeah. And then another person who was involved in that drug dealing didn't do any time in jail. Something — this is one where the punishment truly didn't fit the crime, and so I think this was the right thing to do. And I've never met him — I've met his mother. I've met his mother. Yeah, very nice woman, very — she's not in denial. I mean, she knows that her son was dealing drugs using the Bitcoin blockchain. But two life sentences for — it just seems wrong.”ML: “Some of your colleagues say there was child sex trafficking and murder for hire stuff, at least going on on this site, not necessarily tied to him, but…?”CL: “Yeah, I don't know about that. I don't know, I don't know if he was involved in that. But when you look at other people that were in the orbit of that, you know, criminal enterprise, it just seemed like the sentence was crazy, and he has served, what, ten years or so.”ML: “Yeah? Maybe even more…”*CORRECTION: He was convicted in 2015. CL: “Yeah.”ML: (inaudible) CL: “Yeah, to me that this is commuting it to time served, is that what the president did?”ML: “I believe so.”NOPE: “…full and unconditional pardon…”CL: “Yeah.ML: “Busy week, ma'am.”CL: “Well, I know. These executive orders have been coming right now. And so I don't know all the details, but that's what I know. So I'm just comfortable with what — I am comfortable with what he did, the president.” ML: “What do you think about the new SEC regulatory meetings, or whatever it is. It’s in my notes. So I can't read my notes. Their new regulatory crypto task force.”CL: “Yeah, I'm excited about it. [Commissioner] Hester [“crypto mom”] Peirce, who is at the SEC, is very knowledgeable about digital assets, and so I think she'll be — I think she'll be involved in shaping it. I think she'll be able to go through and look at pending agency guidance, pending rules, pending lawsuits and be able to sort out what's very legitimate and what is of concern. And by legitimate, I mean, would this case have been brought if it didn't involve cryptocurrency or digital assets, and if the answer’s, ‘Yeah, it would have been brought regardless,’ it's probably a legitimate case. But if a case is being brought or a rule is being drafted only to apply to this one asset, it looks kinda punitive, and Hester will be able to cut through that.”ML: “Do you think that would be a sea change, or is it part of the bigger — you still need a new head of the SEC and stuff like that?”Every bit helps!Support our independent crypto journalism by finding us on Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!CL: “Yeah, when [Trump’s head of SEC nominee] Paul Atkins comes in and is confirmed, he also is knowledgeable about digital assets. Quite frankly, [former SEC chair] Gary Gensler was knowledgeable. The problem was, he was — that whole administration was hostile towards digital assets: the White House, the FDIC, Treasury, the Fed, the bank supervision people at the Fed, the bank compliance ...
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    8 mins
  • EXCLUSIVE — Chair French Hill says dollar-backed stablecoin and market structure are top priorities

    EXCLUSIVE — Chair French Hill says dollar-backed stablecoin and market structure are top priorities
    Jan 17 2025
    Who?Rep. French Hill (R-AR) — Chair, House Financial Services CommitteeLISTEN: Laslo & HillAsk a Pol asks:What do you see as the path forward on crypto in this new Congress?Key Hill:“We're going to work with [Senate Finance Committee] Chair Tim Scott and the new Digital Asset Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis in the Senate to craft a path forward for both the dollar-backed stablecoin legislation and a regulatory market structure for digital assets as well,” Rep. French Hill exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “Those will be key, you know, early objectives.” Subscribe for FREE to get our latest crypto exclusives from the Capitol first! Or consider a paid, VIP subscription to support our work.ICYMI — Whip Tom Emmer bullish on crypto Caught our ear:“We've built the coalition about what those two policy objectives look like when we got that partisan feedback from them,” Hill tells us. “People have concerns about privacy, about the law enforcement aspects of digital assets and financial technology. And we believe we would address those in both the stablecoin draft legislation and how we crafted FIT that passed the House floor.”Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. French Hill (R-AR), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Rep. French HillSCENE: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo is staking out the basement of the US Capitol as lawmakers make their way to vote on the floor of the House of Representatives when he runs into newly minted House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill. They then proceed to accidentally ride an elevator together for a few minutes… Matt Laslo: “Hey, how are you?”French Hill: “How are you?”ML: “Mr. Emmer told me to talk to you.”FH: “Mm-hm.”ML: “What do you see as the path forward on crypto for this Congress?”FH: “Yep. So I'll say on the record that we're going to work with [Senate Financial Services Committee] Chairman Tim Scott and the new Digital Asset Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis in the Senate to craft a path forward for both the dollar-backed stablecoin legislation and a regulatory market structure for digital assets as well. Those will be key, you know, early objectives on a bicameral basis.” ML: “Yeah? And you think that one pretty early, cause it is still bipartisan?”FH: “I think, we, you know, we've done our homework.”ML: “Yeah?” FH: “We've done — we've built the coalition about what those two policy objectives look like and we’ve gotten bipartisan feedback from them. So yeah.”ML: “Now, there wasn't — well, there was outright opposition from the [Sen. Elizabeth] Warrens and {Rep. Brad] Shermans of the world — but do you feel like, not that they're powerless, but they're now the minority in this new Congress?” FH: “Look, I think people have concerns about privacy, about the law enforcement aspects of digital assets and financial technology. And we believe we’ve addressed those in both the stablecoin draft legislation and how we crafted FIT that passed the House floor. But we're, you know, always willing to talk to our colleagues about concerns they have.”Every bit helps! Support our independent crypto journalism by finding us on Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!ML: “And do you think like, is it a new day for crypto here in Washington?”Hill enters elevator. ML: “Does it feel like it's a new day for crypto here in Washington?” Laslo enters elevator. FH: “I believe that…”ML: “Does the leadership get it more now?”FH: “I think over the last four years, actually starting back, or even longer, six years dating back to even Ranking Member Waters — then-Chair Maxine Waters — worked during Libra and, you know, the whole Facebook…” Elevator opens on the 2nd floor of Capitol. FH: “I’m going first, I’m sorry.”ML: “I’m going to basement.”The elevator goes up to the 3rd floor. FH: “I think that after four to six years of work and member education, that we are in a better place, that we have more members that are knowledgeable about the policy points in the discussion. So I believe this Congress is…” Elevator stops on the 2nd floor for second time. FH: “It’s a new day for this Congress, in that we have more members on both sides of the aisle that are familiar with these issues…”ML: “One more. We’re riding a local, sir.”Both are laughing as Hill point out to the expansive marble hallway just off the House floor. FH: “Beautiful building. You’ve done a lot of nice things with it.”ML: “19 years here and still doesn't get old.”FH: “Yeah.” ML: “Interesting. What are you expecting from Trump executive order-wise? Do you expect something early?”Elevator opens on 1st floor where Hill sees a colleague. . FH: “Hey Debby.” Debby: “Hey, how are you?” FH: “I’m interested in the approach the incoming administration takes on any executive order for this space, and certainly trying to ...
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    5 mins

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