US officials who own cryptocurrencies barred from working on crypto regulation

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) barred officials who privately own digital assets from participating in drafting the federal regulatory framework for the industry.

“[…] an employee who holds any amount of cryptocurrency or stablecoin cannot participate in a specific regulatory issue if he knows that it could have a direct and predictable impact on the price of his cryptocurrency or stablecoin,” the notice said.

The OGE gave an example in which an official who invested $100 in a stablecoin cannot participate in drafting the rules. The restrictions would be lifted when he ‘renounces his stake in the stablecoin.’

The rule also applies if the cryptocurrency or stablecoin in question ever “will constitute a security under federal or state law.”

The order applies to all federal government employees, including the White House, the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) and the Treasury Department.

The agency also introduced a single exception. Under the policy, officials are allowed to hold up to $50,000 in mutual funds that invest in digital-asset and blockchain companies.

Earlier in February the Fed barred senior officials from trading cryptocurrencies, commodities, foreign- and sector-specific index funds.

Follow ForkLog’s bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analysis.