Bill on regulation of cryptocurrencies in U. S passes in confidentiality
2023.02.22 09:20
Bill on regulation of cryptocurrencies in U. S passes in confidentiality
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, a prominent nonprofit in the U.S. crypto industry, suggests that Congress should take control of crypto legislation and make it a more “open process” in which the entire market is considered “comprehensively.”
Smith stated in an interview with Bloomberg on February 22 that, despite making the process “very slow,” the industry requires U.S. lawmakers to lead crypto legislation, with regulators “stepping in” in the interim.
Smith said that even though regulators are “moving very quickly,” progress on legislation is happening “behind closed doors,” which suggests that more industry participation in an “open process” with Congress is necessary.
According to Smith, “very specific facts and circumstances” are to blame for the problem with regulators leading legislation with enforcement actions and settlements.
She explained that Congress is currently in a difficult position because many people in Washington, D.C., who “were close” to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX feel “burned” and “betrayed” by the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse in November 2022.
According to Smith, Congress has been looking into stablecoin regulation “since 2019” and the “work has been done,” so he is hopeful that it will occur soon in the United States. She stated that it “came close” to occurring last year, prior to FTX’s collapse.
She went on to say that because crypto risks are distinct from those associated with conventional financial services, regulators must devote more time to market regulation and “tailor to those risks.”
According to Smith, public ledgers make it “much more transparent” than the traditional financial system, which is why stablecoin and “market side” regulation should be prioritized over legislating crypto-related criminal activity.
This comes after Jake Chervinsky, chief policy officer of the Blockchain Association, posted on Twitter on February 15 that, regardless of how many enforcement actions the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission take, they are “bound by legal reality” and that “neither” has the authority to “comprehensively regulate crypto.” He also stated that neither agency has the authority to “comprehensively regulate crypto.”
