EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Cynthia Lummis discusses her new crypto regulations

Lummis-Gillibrand is being reintroduced today and Lummis fears the SEC may try and tank the effort

Listen to Matt Laslo’s raw, uncut exclusive interview with Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthis Lummis from 6-21-2023.

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Below is a rough transcript of the Lummis interview, slightly edited for clarity.

Matt Laslo: “They’re really going after Gensler [Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission].” *laughs*

Cynthia Lummis: “Are they?”

ML: “I mean, it’s interesting, he’s using the SEC as this bludgeon when it doesn’t—when in Congress there’s a debate on where it goes.”  

CL: “Yes, exactly, so he’s using enforcement actions to regulate the crypto industry, and that harms big participants. Companies of long-standing that have gone to the SEC and said ‘Tell us what compliance means to you, SEC, and we will comply. Just tell us what the rules of the road are.’ And they've gotten crickets for a response and the next thing you know they’re getting slapped with an enforcement action. So, the industry is very frustrated. It is, I think, worthwhile for the House to try to figure out why the SEC thinks this is an acceptable approach to regulating, especially when they know these bills are coming through the legislative pipeline. They’ve known about the Lummis-Gillibrand bill for, oh, a year and a half and had a draft of it for over a year.”

ML: “They’ve communicated with you? Do you communicate?”

CL: “Oh yes, we communicate with them a lot.”

ML: “Interesting. So you’ve been surprised by some of these actions coming out?”

CL: “Yes, yes, surprised and disappointed.”