Several leading crypto exchange executives have been called in to testify before a committee on December 8. The committee will be made up of several members of the U.S. Congress, all of whom have questioned the presence of crypto in America and have previously called for stricter regulation.
The Committee Wants to Know More About Crypto
Among the witnesses called to testify before the committee are Alesia Haas of Coinbase fame, Jeremy Allaire from Circle, and Brian Brooks of Bitfury.
The topic of regulation in the crypto space has been a hard and controversial one. The government has often called for strict forms of regulation given the amount of fraud and theft that has occurred within the crypto arena. In addition, several crypto projects and initial coin offerings (ICOs) have been linked to scams and pump-and-dump schemes.
At the same time, too much regulation would arguably diminish everything that the space stands for. Digital currencies were initially created to give more financial independence to investors. Banks and standard financial institutions have been proven to have too much say in the monetary futures of people throughout the world, and crypto is designed to be less biased and provide people with the freedom they have often desired.
Thus, if governments get too involved, this could potentially destroy the crypto space before it’s even gotten a chance to be anything more than just a speculative industry.
This is the only time crypto executives have been questioned in such a way. Following the introduction of the Biden administration, crypto has been looked at under a strong lens by individuals such as Gary Gensler, the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the past, Gensler has stated that he does not entirely trust crypto, and that regulation is the only way to guarantee a safe trading environment.
But he is not the only one to refer to crypto in a derogatory way. Elizabeth Warren – failed 2020 presidential candidate and a congresswoman for Massachusetts – has called for stronger regulation in the past, while President Donald Trump has referred to crypto as a “scam” and not real money.
Don’t Panic Just Yet
Analysts have warned traders not to get too worried about the committee hearing just yet given that many of the executives in question have been part of crypto-based policy implementation in the past. Thus, this could just be a routine check to see how additional standards for investor protection can be set in place. Mr. Brooks of Bitfury, for example, served as a banking regulator under Donald Trump and was tasked with establishing new crypto rules under the 45th president.
In America, the general political attitude towards crypto appears relatively mixed, with some figures – like Andrew Yang – being all for it, and other such as Warren herself practically scorning it like poi