Crypto Lobbyists Want To Negotiate With Congress On Market Regulation
2023.01.04 12:02
Crypto Lobbyists Want To Negotiate With Congress On Market Regulation
Budrigannews.com – As the United States Congress resumes and the battle lines between lawmakers who support and oppose the fledgling financial industry are drawn, cryptocurrencies will be a hot topic.
However, the Blockchain Association states that advocates for the cryptocurrency industry number over 100 and are working to find a balance between innovation and protection.
On January 3, the 118th Congress of the United States met in Washington, D.C. It is expected to continue for the remaining two years of President Joe Biden’s first term, which begins on January 3, 2025.
After a number of high-profile meltdowns last year, the most significant of which was the collapse of FTX at the beginning of November, the cryptocurrency industry is currently in the crosshairs.
Ron Hammond, director of government relations at the Blockchain Association, discussed the difficulties and opportunities facing Congress on the day it resumed in a Twitter thread on January 3.
1) This week in Congress and crypto: The first day of the 118th Congress has arrived! It is no secret, the crypto industry is in the crosshairs of Congress after the FTX fallout. This Congress presents challenges and opportunities though so here is the latest from the ground…
— Ron Hammond (@RonwHammond) January 3, 2023
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, has transformed into Public Enemy No. 1 in Washington, DC. Added Hammond:
“The problem for many in DC is that they equate FTX with the entire crypto industry.”
The meltdown could lead to “once-in-a-decade legislation,” and submissions of solid regulatory frameworks, such as the Lummis-Gillibrand bill, have already been made. Banking, crypto taxes, stablecoin regulations, interagency coordination, and agency jurisdiction are all addressed in the bipartisan bill.
Hammond stated that stablecoin regulation will also be a priority during the first few months of Congress.
“Smaller bills like stablecoins and spot market regulation have a chance of moving this year, but will likely need to wait till the dust settles on FTX both in the courts and the congressional hearings.”
The battle lines will be split between the pro-crypto House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry and the anti-crypto Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown, who suggested a crypto ban last month.
There are additionally proposition to manage crypto from the Farming Advisory groups, which advocate for the Product Fates Exchanging Commission (CFTC) to supervise guidelines.
In addition, Hammond stated that it is likely that new issues, such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and decentralized finance (DeFi), which have received increased interest as a result of enforcement actions last year, will be discussed in Congress this year.
Positively, he came to the conclusion that the cryptocurrency industry “continues to poach talent from other industries on the advocacy, lobbying, and policy front” and has a “strong bench in D.C.”
He added that there is cause for optimism because a group that formerly consisted of fewer than a dozen individuals from CoinCenter, Coinbase, the Blockchain Association, and a few other organizations “has now become a network of 100+ policy experts.”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also stated on January 4 that he was “cautiously optimistic” for the year 2023. He added that there is no such thing as a perfect bill, and that the pursuit of one should not impede congressional progress in creating a regulatory framework.
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