Two major crypto bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. One aims to establish which cryptocurrencies are securities. The other looks to put regulation of exchanges in the hands of the country's commodities regulator. The securities bill The Securities Clarity Act, from the office of Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN) establishes a new distinction in securities law between an investment contract and the "an asset sold pursuant to an investment 22 contract, whether tangible or intangible (including an 23 asset in digital form)." The new bill is basically a direct response to recent controversy over the Simple …
In a public statement on Thursday, Chairman Heath Tarbert announced that he will be leaving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission early next year. In listing accomplishments over the course of his term, Tarbert included that "We have promoted responsible fintech innovation and declared Ether a commodity." This tracks with Tarbert's broader interest in the crypto markets and earlier statements affirming that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) should not face regulation as securities. Tarbert, who joined the CFTC in 2019, has been a noted voice for sound crypto regulation at the federal level. He joins a laundry list of appointed regulators …
With 55 days until his inauguration as President of the United States, Joe Biden is reportedly considering the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a permanent position in his administration. According to a Nov. 25 report from CNBC, the president-elect is floating Gary Gensler for a position as Deputy Treasury Secretary starting in 2021. The report states that “people familiar with the matter” have mentioned Gensler as a likely candidate for the role. He would be working under former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, whom Biden is reportedly planning to nominate as Secretary of the Treasury. Yellen …
In a letter to the leadership of the United States House Financial Services Committee, ranking member Patrick McHenry took a jab at “inconsistent treatment and jurisdictional uncertainty” inherent in U.S. crypto regulation and called for the Committee to take on its critical issues. McHenry, a Republican representing North Carolina, opened by mentioning that the Committee’s Democrat Chairwoman Maxine Waters is looking to schedule additional hearings addressing matters pertinent to the digital asset industry. He further stressed the need for identifying and prioritizing the key issues and achieving a “broad, bipartisan consensus” on the matters affecting the industry that holds immense …
Several storylines that had been long in the making dominated last week’s news cycle in the cryptocurrency policy and enforcement department. The Russian government has made another huge step on the path toward creating a tailored regulatory framework for digital assets, unveiling its consolidated view that crypto is to be treated as currency rather than swept under the rug of a blanket ban. While this movement in the direction of crypto’s formal legitimization is a welcomed development, a host of questions persists related to both the exact shape of the new regime and its enforcement. The biggest enforcement story of …