• Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seem to agree that legislation is needed to regulate cryptocurrency.
• US Representative French Hill believes that failing to provide a functional framework for digital assets in the US will hurt American investors more than anything.
• Former House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters agrees that legislation is needed, and there should be a bipartisan approach for it.
Agreement On Crypto Legislation
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are seemingly reaching an agreement on the need for legislation to regulate cryptocurrency. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., stated that his Democratic colleagues have expressed their support for „commonsense legislation“ for months. He believes that this will help bring market participants into the regulatory perimeter with investor protections tailored to the unique risks and benefits of digital assets. In addition, former House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters also agrees that legislation is needed and should be done in a bipartisan manner.
Risks Of Not Having Legislation
Hill warned about the potential risks of not having regulations in place. If no framework is established, then activity could move offshore exchanges instead of happening in a regulated US environment – which would hurt American investors more than anything else. He emphasized that no one was saying crypto should be exempt from rules or create its own new regime; instead they were aiming at applying the principle of ‘same risk, same regulation’ by amending current law accordingly.
Rep Sherman’s Pushback
The California Democrat Brad Sherman seemed unconvinced about cryptocurrency being necessary in America during Wednesday’s hearing as he pushed back against rhetoric stating otherwise. He argued there was no need to catch up with other countries when comparing it to areas such as cocaine, organ harvesting and tax fraud where they are ahead of US standards.
Conclusion
In conclusion, lawmakers appear to have an agreement on needing regulations for cryptocurrency but differ on how much regulation there should be and what form those regulations should take. There needs to be more discussions between Democrats and Republicans alike if any real progress is going to be made before Congress can return to developing legislation together as suggested by Maxine Waters earlier this year .