CoinCenter, other advocacy groups condemn CANSEE bill for overreach on DeFi

CoinCenter and other cryptocurrency advocacy groups have criticized a Senate bill that would impose stringent regulations on individuals involved in decentralized finance (DeFi).

The title of the bill in question is the Crypto Asset National Security Enhancement and Enforcement Act (CANSEE). If the law is enacted, DeFi platform operators and key stakeholders will be held accountable for illegal use of their platforms.

The bipartisan bill was introduced on July 19 by Democratic Senators Jack Reed and Mark Warner, and Republican Senators Mike Rounds and Mitt Romney.

Coincentre and its executive director Jerry Britto now criticize the proposal as “messy, arbitrary and unconstitutional.” July 20th statement.

CoinCenter warned that the bill would extend sanctions penalties and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) obligations to individual developers. He added that the Treasury Secretary has full authority to decide who administers a particular protocol, and said the proposed waiver would not solve the problem. He also mentioned possible overreach, such as possible crackdowns on publishers of books containing code.

Coincenter acknowledged the government’s desire to prosecute individuals involved in money laundering, but otherwise the bill would be a “total ban,” presumably due to its content-based approach to restricting free speech. , said it was “unconstitutional” and “too broad”.

Other groups have also commented

Meanwhile, the Blockchain Association has released its own response to the CANSEE bill. July 19th. Advocacy groups and their CEO Christine Smith have argued that illegal transactions will account for only 0.24% of all cryptocurrency transactions in 2022, and authorities currently do not have sufficient powers to enforce the law. claimed to have

The group also called the bill “impossible” and “completely incompatible with digital asset technology.” The group said it would support other efforts that could prevent illegal activity. fix Towards a national defense bill specifically targeting cryptocurrencies.

Natalie Smolensky, Senior Research Fellow at the BTC Policy Institute, said: said: “They are now trying to outlaw decentralization.”

The CoinCenter article, where other advocacy groups denounce the CANSEE bill as overkill for DeFi, first appeared on CryptoSlate.