Today, the Senate Bank Sub -Committee for Digital Assets hosted its first consultation entitled “Exploring Bipartisan legislative framework for digital assets”, in which certain members of the Sub -Committee and the Crypto Industry witnesses predominantly discussed stableecoin regulation.
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a prolonged spokesman for Bitcoin and Digital Asset industry, led the consultation with the help of ranking a member of the subcommittee, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
The witnesses included Tim Massad, former CFTC chairman and research fellow at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Jai Massari, Head of Legal Officer at Lightspark; Jonathan Jachym, Global leader of politics and government relationships in Kraken; and Lewis Cohen, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.
By putting the tone of the meeting, Senator Lummis stated that she intends to do her part in the adoption of top -art legislation for Bitcoin and StableCecoins. (This was one of the few times during the meeting that the word “Bitcoin” was mentioned. One of the only other times in the hearing it was mentioned was when Massad expressed that he opposed the creation of a strategic Bitcoin Reserve.)
Throughout the consultation, Massad emphasized the importance of monitoring stableecointra -transactions. He suggested expanding the “regulatory circumference” to tackle AML (anti-laundering laundering) associated with stableecoins and even suggested that smart contracts were designed in a way that reduces the risk of bad actors using them.
“[We might] Program smart contracts so transactions cannot review unless someone has been properly monitored, ”Massad said.
Massad also suggested that stableecoin issuers “aggressively monitor stablecoin activity” as a means of keeping an eye on AML violations.
Massari pointed out that authorities can also monitor stableecoin transactions as these assets run on public blockchains. She also called for sensible regulation around the technology-as long as it is not too heavy-handed.
“We have a trend [when regulating] Financial services to take the new thing and put it into the old, ”she said.
In addition, she also spoke for a “common set of standards” to control stablecoin issuers so that users can feel more confident that all stableecoins are properly supported.
Jachyme endeavored to shift the focus on the consultation from stablecoins to the bill for digital asset market structure and claimed it was “critical” that regulatory agencies construct clear guidelines that digital assets are securities and which are not.
However, he did not receive much recording. Massad stated that it was more important to discuss stableecoins than to discuss the bill for the market structure, making the case that the market structure proposal is not an urgent question as regulators can work with existing securities laws to regulate crypto markets.
Jachym emphasized the point that “the jurisdiction lines [around] Digital assets must be simple “and said that” the lack of regulatory security in the United States has hindered growth [in the crypto industry.]”
Cohen made a similar claim and said that crypto-entrepreneurs in the United States “felt the constant threat of litigation”, referring to former SEC chairman Gary Gensler’s “regulation-for-enforcement” approach.
He also shared that the “uncertain legislative environment has left both consumers and users of digital assets at risk.”
The only participant in the hearing that directly pushed back on the US government’s desire to (over) regulate digital assets was Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH).
“The government has this overall and complete desire to control things,” said Senator Moreno, who continued to share that a number of recent technologies have been used for illegal purposes, not just crypto.
“Why suddenly, when we got to digital currencies, we thought here in Washington, DC, that we will decide the pace of innovation?” he concluded.
Throughout the meeting, the subcommittee members witnessed what jurisdictions around the world that the United States should take signals from modeling its digital asset regulation frameworks.
Massad made the case for Europe and the markets in Crypto -Ass’s regulation (MICA) frames that the European Union has just taken effect, while Jachym suggested to look at states like Wyoming, where Kraking is based, to learn from the cryptocurrency that the state’s legislature has gone.
While the senators in the subcommittee and the witnesses present offered different perspectives on the subjects discussed, a specific mood permeated the consultation, which was that it is at high time politicians on both sides at a time gathering to create clear rules for the way for the crypto industry.
“Bipartisan support for cryptopolitics is no longer a distant target on the horizon,” Jachym said with some relief.