US Congress Prepares to Tackle Crypto Regulation
Last Thursday saw a series of lectures and hearings organized by the US Congress, with the aim of education and informing members of the Congress on the subject of cryptocurrencies.
Two sets of hearings were led by the House Committee and Agriculture and House Financial Services Committee. These were featuring a host of experts and authorities on the subject as well as industry figures speaking about the traditional currencies and finance. These lectures are hopefully going to facilitate the nation-wide regulation of cryptocurrencies.
What Went DownSome of the esteemed and prominent names that were featured on this panel were Amber Baldet, CEO and co-founder of Clovyr; Daniel Gorfine, chief innovation officer of the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); and Scott Kupor, managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz.
So far, the US officials’ response to Bitcoin and digital assets in general was more reactionary – the climate now dictates that it becomes more proactive.
Daniel Gorfine himself put it like this…
“We all have the shared goal to bring clarity and certainty to the market but [we] also need to be sure that we are thoughtful in our approach and do not steer or impede the development of this area of innovation. Indeed, while some may seek the immediate establishment of bright lines, the reality is that hasty regulatory pronouncements are likely to miss the mark, have unintended consequences, or fail to capture important nuance regarding the structure of new products or models.”
Participating members were in agreement that investigation regarding cryptocurrencies is necessary, with Dr. Rodney J. Garratt, professor of Economica at the University of California Santa Barbara pointing out that Federal Reserve will, at some point in the future, “need to respond to the disappearance of cash.”
He offered the formation of retail-oriented central bank cryptocurrency, but not before there is a deeper understanding of monetary policy and financial stability.
Yay or Nay?Garratt added that “crypto is already a currency to some degree,” when asked about whether it could replace fiat, saying that volatility could begin to decline as adoption increases.
Norbert Michel of Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation says, commenting on the widespread fear of crypto criminal activity: “Yes it is true that criminals have used bitcoin, but it’s also true that criminals have used airplanes, computers, and automobiles. We shouldn’t criminalize any of those instruments simply because criminals used them.”
R Street Institute senior fellow, Alex Pollock, asserted that central bank digital currency is “one of the worst financial ideas of recent times, but still quite conceivable.” He fears that central bank’s digital currency would increase bank’s powers.
Other nations, such as the small Mediterranean island of Malta, recognized as one of the world’s hubs for iGaming and digital assets, have already began regulating the crypto. Will USA fall in line next?
Source:
“US Congress: Yes to crypto, no to central bank crypto”, coingeek.com, July 20, 2018.
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