WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing entitled “Protecting Investors and Savers: Understanding Scams and Risks in Crypto and Securities Markets.”
Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:
Financial fraud and scams have always been with us. In fact, they’re older than money itself. Criminals have always found inventive ways to cheat people out of what they earned.
Crypto is no different.
Scams that have persisted in the securities markets can easily be translated to crypto assets. They may seem even more enticing to potential victims when wrapped in a new technology, and with the promise of quick, outsized returns.
In the early years of Bitcoin, scammers hacked exchanges to steal from early adopters. It didn’t take long for crypto fraudsters to figure out Bitcoin can be used for old-time frauds like Ponzi schemes and bogus investments – promising big returns with only upside and no risk.
Back in March, this Committee looked at how cryptocurrencies could be used in illicit finance like terrorism and human trafficking. Today’s hearing considers how the increasing presence of fraud and speculation in the crypto and securities markets threaten investors and savers.
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