Blockchain arms race risks being won by ‘adversary nations’ – US crypto lobby group

A blockchain lobby group backed by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, Circle and Fidelity has urged the US Congress to adopt a legal framework for digital assets or risk falling behind other nations.

On May 19, the US Chamber of Digital Commerce sent a call to action to Congress and the Senate to prioritize adopting a national approach to crypto regulation.

The organization added that it is asking Congress to organize a “Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Solarium Commission” to develop a “national strategic approach to digital assets and blockchain technology” in the United States

There was a stark warning that failure to act would allow “adversary nations” to advance their activities in a space that “jeopardizes US leadership and dollar primacy”.

It cited China as an example of such resistance with the development of an internationally focused Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) to “incorporate global development and trade and fill the US-created vacuum.”

It also cited the growing number of countries considering or choosing to trade with China directly in yuan, ditching the US dollar. These include Saudi Arabia, Russia, France, Brazil and India, it wrote.

On a similar note, the organization mentioned the potential BRICS digital currency and other developments regarding gold-backed digital currencies from Russia and Iran.

The brief concluded that regulatory and legal opacity in the United States “hinders the nation’s ability to lead and benefit from this innovation revolution,” adding:

“This abdication severely inhibits domestic development and benefits other nations at the expense of the American innovator and investor.”

The name of the proposed commission refers to Project Solarium which was created in the wake of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War by President Eisenhower to counter the threat of Soviet expansion.

The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, created in 2019, was created to develop a strategic approach to defend against cyber attacks. The crypto advocacy group wants a similar strategy for digital assets and blockchain technology, which “desperately needs consensus in the wake of other nations’ advances.”

Related: US Chamber of Commerce criticizes SEC’s “random” regulatory actions

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is an American advocacy group founded in 2014 that promotes new technologies in the blockchain sector.

On May 19, the group supported Senator Tom Emmer to introduce the Securities Clarity Act which aims to provide much-needed regulatory clarity to the crypto-asset and blockchain industry in the United States

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission is adamant that the existing rules formed decades ago still apply to this new form of digital finance and its underlying technology.

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