US Congressman expresses importance of crypto wallet privacy

Cynthia Lummis and Warren Davidson talk on the importance of Bitcoin and private privacy during an interview at Bitcoin 2021 in Miami.

US Congressman expresses importance of crypto wallet privacy

Cynthia Lummis and Warren Davidson talk on the importance of Bitcoin and private privacy during an interview at Bitcoin 2021 in Miami.

At the active Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, representative Warren Davidson, alongside U.S Senator Cynthia Lummis, sat down to field interview questions. The interview took a flip toward privacy, with Davidson responding with comments on crypto wallets. 

“At the end of the year, if you think about it, Secretary Mnuchin was talking about banning private wallets,” Davidson said, responding to a question about the possibility of over-regulation in crypto. “That’s a horrible approach,” he added. “If we don’t protect private wallets, someone is going to try to ban them.”

As Davidson mentioned, Dec 2020 saw the U.S. Treasury recommended strict overwatch on self-custodied digital asset wallets, with certain specifics, like calling for more information from users transacting with wallets held away from crypto exchanges.

“I wish the country would take the threat to privacy as seriously as they take the threat to the second amendment,” he said. The second amendment of the U.S. The Constitution gives citizens gun ownership rights.

Taking her flip at a response, Lummis noted the importance of teaching the U.S. government people on Bitcoin. “We’re trying to create a financial innovation caucus so we can use it to educate members of the U.S. Senate and their staffs about Bitcoin, its advantages, and why it is just such a fabulous asset to dovetail with the U.S. dollar,” she said. “It can be the underlying network, worldwide, to keep the dollar the global reserve currency, but still allow people to transact in a very freedom-loving way,” she told, adding:

“Whether you’re in Venezuela, where the inflation is outrageous and you’re trying to get your wealth out of the country, you can get it out through Bitcoin. And, the United States, if we get to the point where we’re experiencing the kind of inflation we’ve begun to see this year, we may want that alternative as well.”

In current years, Venezuela has seen soaring levels of inflation amid a broad economic decline that was partly tied to the oil-price collapse of 2014.

The Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami up to now  has hosted important action in terms of speakers and discussions. The event can continue for a second day on the weekend.