Another U.S. congressman is showing his support for the cryptocurrency industry by hosting a roundtable to discuss the best way forward for developing regulations.
Developing and implementing crypto regulations is a tricky business. You need to ensure that the end-user is protected but you also don’t want to stunt the growth of this innovative and disruptive industry. While government authorities may be focused on the former, cryptocurrency experts and users may be more concerned with the latter.
The obvious solution is to allow both parties to air their views and discuss a favorable way forward. This is something that Rep. Warren Davidson from the U.S. state of Ohio is hoping to accomplish with the Legislating Certainty for Cryptocurrencies roundtable that he will be hosting on Tuesday.
Regulations on the Roundtable
According to CNBC, almost 50 representatives have been invited, both from the traditional finance sector as well as from the crypto industry. These reportedly include experts from Nasdaq, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ripple, Coinbase and Circle.
In a letter that Davidson sent to attendees, he stated:
Your input is critical to helping us preempt a heavy-handed regulatory approach that could stall innovation and kill the U.S. ICO market.
Crypto critics are wary of the apparent threats that Bitcoin and the like represent, which is why Davidson hopes to discuss fraud protection as well as laws pertaining to issuing tokens.
An issue that has arisen is that regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are applying old rules to this new technology. An example of this is the fact that the SEC uses the Howey Test, which was established in 1946, to determine if an asset is a security.
In addition to using a decision maker that is more than 70 years old, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has said that he will not be updating securities laws for cryptocurrencies.
Working Together to Find a Solution
While there seems to be a bit of a push and pull dynamic in regulation creation, Pat Berarducci believes that those in the industry actually want clear guidelines. The lawyer for the blockchain software technology company, ConsenSys, explained:
There are a lot of regulators wanting the U.S. to develop ‘do no harm’ policies to allow innovation to grow, just like they did in the internet era.
Similar comments have recently been made by CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo.
Berarducci also touched on how harsh regulations in the U.S. could result in an exodus of talented individuals and startups looking for countries with a more beneficial regulatory environment, saying:
Businesses and entrepreneurs are making decisions about where to locate and grow based on regulatory considerations. Policymakers are trying to foster innovation [and] at the same time protect consumers.
Rep. Tom Emmer is one of the opening speakers for Davidson’s roundtable. Emmer recently made headlines for drafting three bills that aim to support both the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. Davidson plans to use feedback to prepare a new House bill that he is planning to introduce.
Do you think that this meeting will be a success and will result in positive legislation for the U.S. crypto industry? Let us know in the comments below!
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