The senior United States senator from Montana, Jon Tester, criticized cryptocurrencies, stating that he sees "no reason why" they exist.

Democrat Jon Tester Sees ‘No Reason’ in Crypto’s Existence

  • The senior US senator from Montana, Jon Tester, criticized cryptocurrencies, stating that he sees “no reason why” they exist.
  • “The problem is if we regulate it, […] it may give it the ability of people to think it’s real,” said the Senator in his statement.
  • Crypto community on Twitter criticized the Senator’s remarks with users saying that he has no knowledge about blockchain and decentralization.
  • In an earlier statement, Jon Tester said that the crypto industry was “all bullshit” and that he can’t “figure out what supports it.”

Many US Senators have come out against the existence of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and many don’t see the reason for their existence except, for illicit purposes. Jon Tester, an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, recently stated that he sees “no reason why” cryptocurrencies and digital assets should exist in the current scenario.

Jon Tester has held his seat as the Democrat from Montana since 2007 and is a senior member of the US politics. Interestingly, the Senator is also a part of the Senate Banking Committee, a committee which has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, deposit, etc. Additionlly, the Committee is also one of the key entities involved in the regulation sphere.

In an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ on Dec. 11, Jon Tester stated that cryptocurrencies and the crypto sector has no value. He added that regulating this sector will only lead to giving legimitacy to the industry which is, in some sense, a playground for scammers and ru-pullers.

According to the Senator’s statement, “It’s not been able to pass the smell test for me. I have not been able to find anybody who’s been able to explain to me what’s there other than synthetics […] which means nothing,” he said, while further adding:

“The problem is if we regulate it, and I pointed this out to some of the regulators here a week or two ago, if we regulated it, it may give it the ability of people to think it’s real,” said Jon Tester in an interview.

Finally, Jon Tester added that he sees “no reason why this stuff should exist” at all. However, the crypto community on social media platform Twitter, which was just sold to Elon Musk for over $44 billion, decided to criticize the Senator for his self-admitted lack of knowledge of crypto and his anti-crypto remarks.

Twitter user @BS0064 tweeted that it is “always good to see people who have no idea what they’re talking about to express really strong opinions on the matter.” On the other hand, @blocknonprofit argued Tester’s statement, adding that “it is real… imagine all those cryptos are just tech stocks not traded on traditional exchanges used today.”

Moreover, Jon Tester slammed cryptocurrencies in an earlier statement given to media outlet Semafor, adding that the crypto industry was “all bullshit” and that he can’t “figure out what supports it.” The Twitter crypto communnity believes that this shows the Senator’s lack of knowledge about blockchain and tokenization.

As reported earlier by Bitnation, US senators Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith recently criticized the collapse of the crypto exchange, FTX, and the broader crypto industry. Furthermore, the lawmakers are concerned that the lack of regulatory oversight in the ties between banks and crypto firms could have long-lasting consequences.

Parth Dubey
Parth Dubey Verified Author

A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.

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