by Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project:

In 2017, the state of Arizona went after the federal government’s attack on gold and silver by eliminating the capital gains taxes on precious metals. This paved the way to deal a massive blow to the Federal Reserve and end their monopoly on money. While the precious metals move was certainly noteworthy, legislation passed last year by the Arizona Senate was nothing short of revolutionary as it officially recognized cryptocurrencies as money by allowing residents to pay their taxes in it. But when you challenge the Federal Reserve, they fight back.

Arizona Senate Bill 1091, titled Income tax payments; bitcoin, was introduced to the Senate on January 10, 2018 and after going through several committees, on Feb. 8, 2018, it passed the House. In May it passed the Senate with a unanimous vote as well. However, because legislation like this serves to undermine the government’s monopoly and control of money, the governor vetoed it.

Just like that, a bill that was unanimously supported by both parties was now dead in the water. When advocates for central banks and no competition in the currency space shoot down bills like this or fear monger over cryptocurrencies, rest assured that they do not have your best interests in mind.

Now, these banker-owned politicians—having seen the power of crypto to decentralize the control of money—are not just blocking legislation to allow crypto to compete, but they are moving to outright ban it. One of these Federal Reserve shills is U.S. Democrat Congressman Brad Sherman who is now openly advocating for the prohibition of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Sherman has no problem admitting that they want to ban cryptocurrency because it is a direct threat to the power of the Federal Reserve.

“An awful lot of our international power comes from the fact that the U.S. dollar is the standard unit of international finance and transactions,” Sherman said at a meeting of the House Financial Services Committee last week, according to Forbes.

He then went on to explicitly describe how the US can bully other nations by maintaining a monopoly on currency and regulating the value thereof.

“Clearing through the New York Fed is critical for major oil and other transactions. It is the announced purpose of the supporters of cryptocurrency to take that power away from us, to put us in a position where the most significant sanctions we have against Iran, for example, would become irrelevant.”

He also pointed out, as if it were a bad thing, that cryptocurrency allows people to avoid paying taxes on their income.

“So whether it is to disempower our foreign policy, our tax collection enforcement or traditional law enforcement, the advantage of crypto over sovereign currency is solely to aid in the disempowerment of the United States and the rule of law,” Sherman added.

Anthony Pompliano, bitcoin advocate and founder of Morgan Creek Digital Assets sees Sherman’s comments as a typical response from those who seek to maintain power through manipulation and control rather than simply good ideas and leading by example.

“While many people will claim Brad Sherman doesn’t know what he is talking about, I would argue that his statement highlights that the Congressman knows exactly what is happening,” Pompliano wrote in a blog post. “He sees the increased probability that we are moving to a world where non-sovereign currencies are the default and it sounds like he is scared.”

“Mr. Sherman realizes that the United States, and other countries with major currencies, will lose considerable power if they are no longer in control. While his understanding of the technology’s potential is accurate, it appears that the Congressman does not understand the improbability of being able to ban ownership of these decentralized digital currencies. The laws could be created but they would be nearly impossible to enforce.”

While Sherman’s comments may seem insanely tyrannical, last year, he said somethingeven worse and admitted that cryptocurrency threatens the government’s control over you.

“Cryptocurrencies are popular with guys who like to sit in their pajamas and tell their wives they are going to be millionaires. They help terrorists and criminals move money around the world. Tax evaders. They help startup companies commit fraud, take money, and one percent of the time they actually create a useful business,” Sherman said, attempting to ridicule and shame the millions of good people who choose to invest in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies.

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