Republican Senator and Bitcoin proponent Cynthia Lummis said that massive government spending is accelerating crypto adoption. Lummis made the comments while sharing an interview she did with “Varney & Co” on the Fox Business cable network on July 29, in which she called for a crypto regulatory sandbox and support to attract Bitcoin miners to set up in US states. On Twitter she stated that “big gov’t spenders are (accidentally) doing far more to accelerate the adoption of digital assets than I am,” and asserted that the debasement of the U.S. dollar is driving citizens to store value in digital …

Tuesday’s crypto hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs also included a call for stricter regulations on cryptocurrency miners. Addressing the committee, professor Angela Walch claimed that miners held “meaningful power” over the way blockchain networks operate. According to Walch, miners can exploit their role of transaction ordering, which could become a “major issue” for cryptocurrencies, as reported by Law360. In stressing the point, professor Walch likened the miner extractable value paradigm — where miners earn more profits from ordering transactions in a certain way — as being akin to a “bribe.” As such, …

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has called on United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other regulators to develop a “comprehensive and coordinated” framework for addressing risks in the cryptocurrency market. In a letter addressed to Yellen, the Democratic senator said the Financial Stability Oversight Council, also known as FSOC, “must act quickly to use its statutory authority to address cryptocurrencies’ risks and regulate the market to ensure the safety and stability of consumers and our financial system.” She continued: “As the demand for cryptocurrencies continues to grow and these assets become more embedded in our financial system, …

Senator and former United States presidential aspirant Elizabeth Warren has once again raised alarms about the current regulatory climate for crypto in the country. According to Reuters, Warren has written to Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, demanding answers about the scope of the SEC’s crypto oversight in the area of consumer protection. In a statement issued by Warren, the chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Policy bemoaned the lack of protection for crypto investors against the activities of rogue actors, adding: “These regulatory gaps endanger consumers and investors and undermine the safety of our financial …

U.S. Senator and Bitcoin proponent, Cynthia Lummis, would like to see U.S. residents turn to Bitcoin as part of a diversified strategy for their retirement plans. Speaking during the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit on June 29, Senator Lummis stated she would like to see Bitcoin and other crypto-assets become a normal part of diversified asset allocations used for retirement funds in order to protect the from inflation. “I’d also like to see individuals be able to use Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies of their preference that are safe, that have met the hurdles of anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act,” she added. …

A bipartisan bill that requires the study of blockchain technology and digital tokens passed the House of Representatives on June 22. The “Consumer Safety Technology Act'' is centered on consumer protection and includes digital token and blockchain research. The bill passed the 117th Congress within a week of its introduction, with a resounding 325 votes in favor of, and 103 votes against. This is not the first time this bill has reached this point however, and under the Trump administration, the bill passed the House in September 2020. It was then referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation …

United States Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming took advantage of a deeply discounted Bitcoin (BTC) price this week by adding to her holdings. In the wake of yet another major price correction for crypto assets, Lummis told Fox News on Wednesday that she’s “excited to buy the Bitcoin dip.” U.S. Senator, @CynthiaMLummis, "I'm excited to buy the #bitcoin dip" pic.twitter.com/OHXiA6vhxi — Documenting Bitcoin (@DocumentingBTC) June 23, 2021 When asked about Bitcoin’s rapid price decline, Lummis said: “I’m really excited about it because as soon as it drops a little more, I’m going to buy some more.” Lummis compared Bitcoin’s drop …

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren did not mince words when it came to criticizing crypto, but seemed to consider a federally-backed digital currency as a possible solution to address problems around financial inclusion in the United States. At a Wednesday session of the Senate Banking Committee discussing a U.S. government-backed central bank digital currency, or CBDC, Warren said the recent explosion in cryptocurrencies had helped many people understand the foundational technology on which digital currencies were based. However, she called crypto a “fourth rate alternative to real currency.” “Digital currency from central banks has great promise,” said Warren. "Legitimate digital public …

Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. In a vote of 53-45 today, the Senate members confirmed the former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, volunteered to join then President-elect Joe Biden’s team as a financial expert in November. Biden announced the former CFTC was his pick to chair the SEC shortly before his inauguration in January. During his confirmation hearings with the Senate …

On March 29, the Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill that seeks to legally recognize transactions and registrations made via blockchain smart contracts. The bill — SF541 — gained Senate approval earlier in the month. Under the auspices of the new bill, smart contracts would be given the same legal status as regular contracts, while distributed-ledger technology would be viewed as a reliable electronic store of record. Regarding smart contracts, the bill states: “The bill provides that a contract shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because the contract is a smart contract or contains a smart …

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached over $51,000 on March 7 after the U.S. Senate passed the anticipated $1.9-trillion stimulus bill, which is roughly two times larger than the market capitalization of BTC. United States’ President Joe Biden said that the Senate’s approval shows major progress in delivering a “desperately needed” stimulus bill to Americans. He said: “Today I can say we’ve taken one more giant step forward in delivering on that promise, that help is on the way. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was so desperately needed, urgently needed.” Why is the stimulus bullish for Bitcoin price? When …

Today, the Senate Banking Committee held its first hearing on the nomination of Gary Gensler to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. The role will have major influence on the future of crypto regulation, as the SEC has been a chokepoint for major areas like the status of initial coin offerings, approval of new exchange-traded funds, and crypto firms going public. In his appearance before the committee, however, Gensler was evasive about any specific changes he would make to the SEC's crypto policy. He supported prior decisions, like Bitcoin’s (BTC) exclusion from the SEC’s purview, but dodged any real commitment …