Biden’s Nominee to Regulate Banks Expresses ‘Worry’ Over Bitcoin: Adversaries Might ‘Control the Functioning of that System’

President Joe Biden’s controversial nominee to become the nation’s top banking regulator said Thursday she was concerned about Bitcoin because of the possibility American adversaries might “control” its “functioning.”

Saule Omarova, Biden’s nominee for comptroller of the currency, made the comment during a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee in an exchange with Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Lummis asked Omarova whether she believed “only in fiat currency.” Omarova replied that she held “concern” about cryptocurrencies — of which there were more than 10,000 as of Thursday — because of the possibility they might come under centralized control.

“We may end up in a situation where, for example, a large company, like a big tech company, might control all of the infrastructure through which the money that every American, every American family, every American business uses in their daily life,” Omarova said. “That worries me because private companies, as you know, are pursuing private profits, and that is absolutely what they should be doing.”

Citing the fact that El Salvador’s government recognized Bitcoin as an official currency this year, Lummis asked Omarova to elaborate on her view, saying, “How do you think you as a regulator can make the judgment calls that people don’t have adequate access to capital when countries like El Salvador have recognized bitcoin as legal tender specifically to grant people more access to capital?”

“I have not been to El Salvador,” Omarova replied, before falsely suggesting the country had changed its position on the U.S. dollar. “But my understanding is that before El Salvador recognized Bitcoin as its official currency, they were using U.S. dollar. And the U.S. dollar is, to me, the best money in the world.”

Returning to her original question, Lummis, queried, “Do you believe that a government-issued representation of currency, of value, is superior to private commerce?”

“I believe that we do have government issued money right now in this country, and it’s working great,” Omarova said. “And I worry about allowing private innovation to undermine a lot of important public policies that we need to pursue in this country.

“I am not an expert on bitcoin,” Omarova acknowledged. “But I would worry if all of our financial transactions were up to some blockchain system, where you know various actors might actually be located in other countries not particularly friendly to us, control the functioning of that system.”

Omarova has faced a contentious path to Senate confirmation, coming under fire from Republicans for her academic history. She graduated from Moscow State University on the V.I. Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship with a thesis on Karl Marx and “the theory of revolution in the capital” before moving to the United States.

Watch above via C-SPAN.