In an interview with Fox News show “Varney & Co”, Republican senator and longtime Bitcoin advocate Cynthia Lummis shared her views on crypto regulation. Shortly after, the politician linked the interview to a tweet, where she asserted that massive government spending in the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital assets.

Cynthia Lummis Demands a Regulatory Sandbox for Bitcoin

During her cable TV appearance, Lummis emphasized that any regulations for cryptocurrencies should be accompanied by “good solid definitions.” She said that the end result of this process should be a “regulatory sandbox” that allows innovation to continue. 

The senator also expressed her own interest in Bitcoin as a store of value and highlighted that regulators must ensure that the currency remains instrumental for this purpose. But she pointed out that if the US were to approach the flagship crypto as a legal tender, like El Salvador, then the asset must comply with the bank secrecy act and anti-money laundering laws. 

“We want to make sure that it is used legitimately and that it can be ferreted out when it’s used nefariously,” she said.

Lummis also outlined her support for the crypto miners banned by China transitioning to the country. “We wanna make sure that these miners coming to the US from China…can come to places like Pennsylvania, Texas, Wyoming, and elsewhere. Where they can get the energy to mine it and then once it’s produced that it can be on the blockchain in a way that enhances the non-fiat currency advantages that cryptocurrency has,” she told Fox host Stuart Varney.

Government Spending Leading to a “Flight to Digital Assets”

Unlike some Bitcoin maximalists who favor “hyperbitcoinization”, senator Lummis is a strong supporter of the USD as a reserve currency. Following her television interview, she posted a tweet alleging that government spending has “debased” the dollar and hastened the adoption of virtual currencies. She also suggested that this is the worst way to push people towards digital assets.

1 addition: Big gov’t spenders are (accidentally) doing far more to accelerate the adoption of digital assets than I am. The debasement of our currency is causing a flight to digital assets like #bitcoin that are a store of value. (1/2) https://t.co/mdemIznpt7

— Cynthia Lummis 🦬 (@CynthiaMLummis) July 28, 2021

According to senator Lummis, the government must limit its spending to protect the status of the dollar. She stated:

“I want USD to continue as the world’s reserve currency. We need to reign in spending & support financial innovation on US soil.”