Vivek Ramaswamy, Unveils Crypto Framework

Vivek Ramaswamy, a U.S. Republican presidential candidate, introduced a crypto policy framework designed to safeguard elements of the Web3 space, including non-custodial digital currency wallets.

In a document titled “The Three Freedoms of Crypto,” Ramaswamy urged regulators to scale back a significant portion of SEC crypto rules.

The proposed framework, unveiled at the recent North American Blockchain Summit in Fort Worth, Texas, outlines a “safe harbor” exemption policy for newly introduced cryptocurrencies.

This exemption offers regulatory clarity, granting new cryptocurrencies protection from securities laws for a specified period after their launch, and prohibiting any federal agency from establishing rules that would restrict the utilization of self-hosted wallets (crypto wallets not controlled by centralized exchanges).

Ramaswamy, known as the founder of Roivant Sciences, also criticized sanctions on Tornado Cash, pledging to prosecute bad actors rather than the code or its developers. His crypto regulatory framework aims to shrink the federal government dramatically and steer crypto into a clear regulatory structure that generally considers tokens to be commodities, not securities. 

Ramaswamy’s policy framework is a response to the current SEC regulations on cryptocurrencies, which he believes are a failure.

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He argues that the rules of the road for cryptocurrencies should be clear and that Gary Gensler’s SEC should be able to instantly answer whether some widely used cryptocurrency or coin is a security or a commodity

Ramaswamy, so far the only candidate to take a strong stance on the topic of cryptocurrency, believes that regulation by enforcement should essentially end and that the rules should be delineated clearly in advance.

He also wants to put a stop to what he considers unconstitutional regulations that Congress didn’t expressly direct federal agencies to have regulatory authority over. 

In his discussion on financial self-reliance, he characterizes the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and money laundering statutes in progress through Congress as fundamentally unconstitutional. He explicitly pledged that any regulation affecting self-hosted wallets would cease during his tenure. 

Touching on the freedom to innovate without regulatory overreach, Ramaswamy cited a significant decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the West Virginia v. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) case, asserting that the regulatory agency lacks the authority to control greenhouse gas emissions.

He went on to mention that, if he were U.S. President, he would revoke any unconstitutional regulations failing the Supreme Court test in West Virginia v. EPA, and anticipates a 75% reduction in the number of federal bureaucrats.