Senators are an interesting breed. They are actually paid to issue decrees about things they have no understanding whatsoever of. Case in point. Senator Machine has called for a decree to be issued that would ban Bitcoin in the United States:
Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has called for a ban on Bitcoin.
In a letter addressed to the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and multiple financial regulatory agencies, Manchin calls the digital currency “disruptive to our economy” and highlights its potential for abuse by criminals.
Obviously Mr. Manchin doesn’t understand how Bitcoin works. As a decentralized protocol that can be accessed pseudonymously there is no central point to take out and no way to know for sure who is using it. This means banning it is, quite literally, impossible because any prohibition cannot be enforced.
If Mr. Manchin understood the technical aspects of Bitcoin he would know that he’s on a fool’s errand. But he’s a senator, which generally means he doesn’t understand the technical aspects of, well, anything. It still amazes me that people actually believe senators are qualified to run our lives considering the complete lack of understanding they have in regards to everything they legislate.
Likely, it’s another way for the government to “Capone” people. If you can’t get them on other illegal activities (i.e. drugs, whatever other crime is deemed illegal but you don’t have proof of it) then get them for having bitcoins.