A group of tech experts and academics have written to U.S. lawmakers to criticise cryptocurrency.
It’s the first major attempt to counter lobbying by the crypto industry.
Cryptocurrency is still a sensitive issue in the U.S.
The people involved with this latest push against crypto include Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza and principal engineer at Google Cloud, Kelsey Hightower.
In all, 26 people were involved in lobbying against crypto.
The letter is addressed to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Other lawmakers were targeted, especially those who have been supportive of the crypto industry, including leading Sens. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Crypto companies spent around $9 million on lobbying in 2021, more than triple the spending of the previous year.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was the biggest spender accounting for $1.5 million of this figure.
