With friends like US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who needs Republicans to screw up the life savings of millions of Americans?
Judd Legum over the Popular.Info has receipts on Gillibrand getting in bed with the shady cryptocurrency industry:
Last week, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) made a joint appearance on CNBC to discuss their bipartisan bill regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the Senators if they thought it was a good idea to allow people to invest their 401(k) retirement accounts in Bitcoin.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Lummis replied. “You want some assets [in a retirement account] that are just a store of value, and I think that’s where bitcoin really shines.”
“I agree,” Gillibrand added. According to Gillibrand, the legislation she is introducing with Lummis will create imbue crypto with “safety and soundness” and give investors confidence that crypto is “here to stay.”
Sorkin asked the question because Fidelity, the largest provider of 401(k) plans in the United States, announced in April that “it would enable its participants to put a slice of their retirement money into Bitcoin — if their employers are willing to allow it.” The move could greatly expand the market for cryptocurrencies by allowing “direct investment in Bitcoin… without having to set up an account on a cryptocurrency exchange.” Fidelity would allow employers to authorize up to 20% of 401(k) contributions to be invested in Bitcoin.
The Labor Department, however, which oversees employers that offer 401(k) plans, says it has “grave concerns with what Fidelity has done.”
Legum goes on to note:
In the CNBC interview, Lummis and Gillibrand rejected the Labor Department’s guidance but failed to disclose their financial ties to the crypto industry. Lummis purchased between $50,000 and $100,000 in Bitcoin on August 17, 2021. At the time of her purchase, a Bitcoin was worth $44,671. Today, a Bitcoin is worth $27,978.70. If a portion of the $11 trillion invested in 401(k) accounts were diverted into Bitcoin, it could significantly drive up the price. Lummis previously said that she has been investing in Bitcoin since 2013 and her current holdings are valued between $150,000 and $350,000.
Gillibrand does not report any crypto assets. But Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, the lobbying organization for the crypto industry, reportedly hosted a fundraiser for Gillibrand in Manhattan on May 31. The fundraiser occurred just a week before Gillibrand and Lummis introduced legislation regulating the industry.
The legislation is consistent with the work of two Senators seeking to ingratiate themselves with the crypto industry.
Do read the entire article. It’s quite good, as is everything Legum does.
The ways that Gillibrand, an alleged progressive, is doing the bidding of Wall Street are shocking.
