US Congressman Brad Shermanwho is a California Democrat and a vocal critic of cryptocurrencieshas expressed doubts about the future of digital assets in the United States.

What happened: His comments came during a joint hearing by two committees in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday looking to streamline digital asset legislation.

“Crypto brethren literally make money by making money, and they’ve made over a trillion dollars,” Sherman said. “They will accuse the US government of making money out of thin air. Maybe we do, but we are the US government.”

During the hearing, Sherman also called cryptocurrencies a “hidden money system” that diverts capital investment away from productive industries. He also pointed out that their “advertised purpose” is to circumvent sanctions and tax laws.

See more: The art of the future: Lisa Ray’s TheUpsideSpace brings NFTs to the fore

Why it matters: Sherman, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Investor Protection, has been a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies and has previously attacked the industry. In November 2022 following FTX Collapse, Sherman once again targeted the crypto industry, accusing “billionaire crypto brethren” of trying to delay “meaningful legislation” from the federal government.

2018 he has called all that Bitcoin BTC/USD allows “a few dozen men in my district to sit on the couch in their pajamas all day and tell their wives they’re going to be millionaires.

Price promotion: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $27,429.57, down 0.82% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

Continue reading: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin tumble despite inflation news: Analyst sees altcoins bleed in massive ‘settlement’ against Apex crypto