Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
US Legislature Outlines Priorities to Regulate Crypto and Make America the Place for Blockchain Innovation – Regulating Bitcoin News
The head of a newly formed committee on digital assets, US Congressman French Hill, has outlined some priorities for regulating the crypto sector and ensuring that America is the place for fintech and blockchain innovation. “We want a regulatory framework that is transparent for developers, investors and potential consumers,” the lawmaker stressed.
US lawmakers divide priorities on crypto regulation
US Congressman French Hill (R-AR), who was recently appointed chairman of the newly formed subcommittee on “Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion,” discussed several crypto-related priorities for his subcommittee in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
In response to a question about whether the United States should have a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), he explained that it is an area his subcommittee wants to explore. The congressman elaborated:
You’ll see us looking at a privacy bill, a federal privacy bill … you’ll see us consider a stablecoin bill … you’ll see us explore what the implications are for the securities market, and work with the House and Senate Agriculture Committee on the commodity aspect of that.
The new Digital Assets Committee will also discuss the oversight of cryptocurrency trading and crypto exchanges, continued Rep. Hill. “Everything is on the table, and it’s going to be a priority for this year.”
So far, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved some bitcoin futures ETFs, but has yet to approve a spot bitcoin ETF.
“We want to make sure America is the place for innovation in Fintech and Blockchain”
The Arkansas lawmaker emphasized, “Blockchain is an important area of innovation,” stressing:
We want the technology to be made here in the USA. We want a regulatory framework that is transparent to developers, investors and potential consumers when people are trying to prove a use case. And finally, we want to make sure that people have full transparency about it.
Rep. Hill described that changes could be gradual rather than completely disruptive: “We want to make sure America is the place for innovation in fintech and blockchain, and distributed ledger technology is part of that fintech future.”
The lawmaker urged Democrats and Republicans to work together, saying, “This is an area that is important to our country. We need this regulation and we must come together to have it, otherwise we will have continued chaos as we saw last year with the spring of bankruptcies in the industry. It’s not helpful for developers, for industry, for innovation, and certainly not for investors and consumers.”
What do you think of the statements made by Congressman French Hill? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or an endorsement or recommendation of products, services or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is directly or indirectly responsible for damages or losses caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
