The leader of the important U.S. business association for crypto advises that the United States Congress take control of crypto legislation to make it a more “open process” where the entire market is examined “comprehensively.”
Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith said in a Feb. 22 Bloomberg interview that despite the process being “extremely long” and regulators “stepping in” in the interim, the sector wants U.S. lawmakers to lead crypto legislation.
Smith remarked that although regulators are “moving extremely swiftly,” legislation is being developed “behind closed doors,” suggesting that increased industry participation in a “open process” that would be visible to Congress is essential.
According to Smith, the problem with regulators enforcing laws and settling disputes is due to “extremely unique facts and conditions.”
Since many people in Washington D.C. who “were close” to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX felt “burned” and “betrayed” over the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022, she added that Congress is in a difficult situation at the present.
According to Smith, Congress has been considering stablecoin regulation “since 2019” and the “work has been done.” He is optimistic that it will take place soon in the United States. Prior to FTX’s demise, she claimed it “came close” to happening last year.
She continued by saying that because crypto risks are distinct from those associated with conventional financial services, regulators must devote more time to studying market regulation and “tailoring to those risks.”
Public ledgers make it “far more visible” than the existing financial system, according to Smith, who argued that stablecoin and “market side” regulation should take precedence over outlawing crypto-related criminal activities.
This comes after the chief policy officer of the Blockchain Association, Jake Chervinsky, claimed on Twitter on February 15 that “neither” of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) enforcement actions, no matter how many they bring, can “comprehensively regulate cryptocurrency” because they are “bound by legal reality.”
