MRC Free Speech America update summary: After President Donald Trump’s inauguration, then-Acting Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Mark Uyeda created a "crypto task force" to help remedy the Commission’s overreach and previous targeting of blockchain-based speech. The Securities & Exchange Commission dropped its appeal in the Ripple case, and Marc Andreessen has taken on an informal advisory role with the Trump administration.
The following article is a supplement to the MRC Report: The Biden Administration Waged War on Free Speech with 57 Censorship Initiatives.
Initiative #43: The Censorship of Blockchain-based Speech
Type of Censorship: Direct Action
Agencies Involved:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- Department of the Treasury
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
- Office of the Secretary of the Treasury
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
- Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
Summary:
Blockchain-based speech offers exciting opportunities for new communication networks. An MRC report detailed how Biden’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) led a coordinated, whole of society approach to censor blockchain-based communication while pushing America toward a social credit system via central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Key Individuals:
- Gary Gensler, SEC Chair
- Gurbir Grewal, SEC Director of the Division of Enforcement
- Martin Gruenberg, FDIC Chair
- Michael J. Hsu, Acting Comptroller of the Currency
- Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury
