U.S. Congress to discuss crypto exchanges, stablecoins and digital-asset regulation

On December 8, the U.S. House of Representatives will discuss with industry executives issues relating to Bitcoin exchanges, the issuance of stablecoins, regulatory challenges surrounding digital assets, and the policy posture of federal agencies.

BREAKING ‼️

Chairwoman @RepMaxineWaters Announces #Cryptocurrency CEOs to Testify at Full Committee Hearing | https://t.co/6IBi6jGNAC pic.twitter.com/r4kJqjmhqu

— U.S. House Committee on Financial Services (@FSCDems) December 1, 2021

The hearing’s agenda on the topic “Digital assets and the future of finance: understanding the challenges and benefits of financial innovation” was unveiled by Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters.

Participants will also discuss DeFi, given its potential to reproduce and replace the traditional provision of financial services, notably lending, asset trading, and insurance.

The document also notes differences in operating structures and stablecoin reserve holdings compared with fiat currencies.

The crypto markets do not have a comprehensive and centralized regulatory framework. This leaves investments in them vulnerable to fraud, manipulation and abuse. Digital assets and their associated service providers may pose risks of money laundering, financing of terrorism, sanctions evasion, kleptocracy and other illicit activities, — the commentary notes.

The Congress aims to develop a clear position on CBDC based on research by the CBDC with the aim of “studying the potential benefits and risks of the digital dollar, as well as its impact on the U.S. domestic payments system.”

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. Moscow time.

Earlier, ForkLog reported that among the invitees were Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Coinbase Global CFO Alesia Haas.

Waters pursues a goal of protecting investors and consumers by holding tech giants to account. In June, under her leadership, a working group on cryptocurrencies was established, previously focusing on CBDCs.

The chair of the Financial Services Committee has repeatedly expressed concern about the Diem Association (Libra Association). In June 2019, the congresswoman urged Facebook to suspend development of the digital currency, and two months later she unveiled a plan for its further study.

In 2020, Waters urged the Biden administration to roll back the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s decisions within the U.S. Treasury Department regarding cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

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