The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-17)

A2 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, MAY 17 , 2022

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l A May 16 A-section article

about the guns purchased by the

suspect in the Buffalo

supermarket massacre described

the Savage Axis XP rifle as

semiautomatic. It is bolt-action.

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item on the front page of the

Sports section, referring to the

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Zibanejad scored two goals, not

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misspelled Zibanejad’s first

name as Mike.

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Commanders marching band

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Retropolis

The past, rediscovered

wpost.com/retropolis

S0364 1x3.

BY TORY NEWMYER

The crypto crash that vapor-

ized roughly $500 billion in mar-

ket value over the last two weeks

is refocusing Washington policy-

makers’ attention — fast-tracking

the desire to set federal rules for

the freewheeling industry.

Financial watchdogs are zero-

ing in on stablecoins, the subset of

cryptocurrencies meant to offer

traders a safe harbor from the

wild swings of the wider crypto

market, after one called Ter-

raUSD — also known by its ticker,

UST — imploded last week.

Backers of other popular sta-

blecoins say their products stand

on sounder foundations because

they keep enough cash or other

highly liquid reserves to meet any

demand for redemptions.

For now, regulators aren’t

drawing such fine distinctions.

“A lot to be done here, and in

the meantime, the investing pub-

lic is not that well-protected,” Se-

curities and Exchange Commis-

sion Chair Gary Gensler said

Monday in an appearance at the

Fin ancial Industry Regulatory

Authorit y’s (FINRA) annual con-

ference. “We’re going to continue

to be a cop on the beat.”

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yel-

len told lawmakers last week that

UST’s fate underscored the need

for them to authorize banklike

requirements for stablecoin issu-

ers, along the lines of what a

Treasury-led panel of regulators

recommended last fall. But a

Treasury senior official said regu-

lators won’t necessarily wait for

lawmakers to act. “In the absence

of congressional action,” this offi-

cial said, speaking on the condi-

tion of anonymity to offer a can-

did assessment, last week’s vola-

tility “will put regulators and

stakeholders on a stronger foot-

ing if they feel the need to act

alone to mitigate the risks.”

It still is not clear what sent

UST into its tailspin. Crypto

sleuths have some theories about

how the stablecoin, which at-

tempted to use complex financial

engineering to keep its price at $1,

slipped off its dollar peg and then

kept sliding. It was trading

around 10 cents on Monday, down

from closer to 20 cents over the

weekend, after a group estab-

lished by UST creator Do Kwon

revealed it had sold off $3 billion

worth if bitcoin in an unsuccess-

ful bid to prop up the stablecoin.

Kwon on Monday said he is not

giving up, proposing a fresh start

to try to revive the project. But the

outcome was plain enough: The

crypto equivalent of a bank run

wiped out $42 billion in value

from coins associated with the

project, according to blockchain

analytics firm Elliptic.

“Terra is throwing everything

including the sink here, but the

market is down on them,” said Ed

Moya, a crypto analyst at the

trading firm OANDA. Moya said

the coin’s meltdown, and the

broader crypto sell-off it helped

provoke, appears to have soured

investors on digital assets for

now. “There’s been a lot of damage

across both retail and institution-

al traders, and the crypto trade is

not looking appealing just yet.”

A number of stablecoin regula-

tion proposals are circulating in

Congress, but none follow the

approach suggested by the Trea-

sury-led group. Crypto industry

leaders are turning their atten-

tion to a more comprehensive bill

for establishing a crypto regulato-

ry framework that Sens. Cynthia

M. Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten

Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are expected

to introduce soon.

Lummis said the proposal

could snuff out coins like UST,

known as algorithmic stablecoins

for the trading mechanism de-

signed to keep their price at a

dollar. “We continue to evaluate

that issue and others after our bill

draft passes because our draft

contemplates consumer safety

provisions that would render an

algorithmic stablecoin less attrac-

tive, even to an issuer,” Lummis

said.

Meanwhile, regulators are

checking in with crypto experts as

they plot their response, includ-

ing industry leaders and advo-

cates of stricter regulation. “I

know firsthand that policymakers

at the White House, Treasury and

Fed are working hard to develop a

policy framework for stable-

coins,” said Dan Awrey, a C ornell

Law School professor who focuses

on financial regulation and ad-

vised the Treasury group last fall.

Key regulators will have oppor-

tunities to weigh in this week.

Gensler is testifying before the

House Appropriations Commit-

tee on Wednesday. The same day,

Rostin Behnam, chair of the Com-

modity Futures Trading Commis-

sion, will talk to the FINRA con-

ference about crypto regulation.

Crypto meltdown r efocuses regulators’ attention

BY LAURIE MCGINLEY

AND CAROLYN Y. JOHNSON

The Food and Drug Adminis-

tration is expected to authorize

booster shots of the Pfizer-BioN-

Tech coronavirus vaccine for chil-

dren ages 5 to 11 as soon as

Tuesday, making an extra dose

available to protect school-age

children as a d escendant of the

omicron variant is becoming

dominant and cases tick upward.

Outside experts who counsel

the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, the Advisory

Committee on Immunization

Practices, are scheduled to meet

Thursday and are expected to

recommend boosters for that age

group. CDC director Rochelle

Walensky is expected to concur

shortly afterward.

Experts have not predicted a

summer surge, but an offshoot of

omicron, called BA.2.12.1, is rap-

idly becoming dominant in the

United States. This version of

omicron has an edge over even its

highly contagious predecessors,

as it may be more transmissible

and better able to evade the

immune defe nses generated by

vaccines and previous infections.

The Pfizer-BioNTech shot is

the only coronavirus vaccine

available as a primary series or a

booster in individuals younger

than 1 8, although that may

change in the next several weeks

as the FDA hastens consideration

of pediatric vaccines.

A month ago, Pfizer and its

German partner, BioNTech, an-

nounced that data from a s mall

study showed their vaccin e

booster increased immune de-

fenses for elementary school-age

children, especially against omi-

cron. The children received the

third dose six months after being

fully vaccinated with two shots.

The study did not directly test

how protected children were

agains t il lness but measured the

effect a b ooster shot had on their

immune defenses.

Blood tests showed that

among children in the study,

antibody levels capable of block-

ing the original version of the

virus were six times higher after

the booster shot, the companies

said in a news release in April. In

a subset of the children, the

booster shot sparked a 36-fold

increase in antibodies that neu-

tralize omicron, the companies

said.

At the time, Pfizer and BioN-

Tech said the results reinforced

“the potential function of a third

dose of the vaccine in maintain-

ing high levels of protection

against the virus in this age

group.” The expected authoriza-

tion of the booster shot as soon as

Tuesday by the FDA was first

reported by the New York Times.

The FDA authorized the pri-

mary two-dose series of the vac-

cine for children ages 5 to 11 last

fall. Each dose is 10 micrograms,

as is the booster, which is one-

third the dose for adults. The

companies said in April the dose

for school-age children was

“carefully selected based on safe-

ty, tolerability and immunogenic-

ity data.”

Whether parents will rush to

get their children booster shots is

far from certain. While some

parents are eager to bolster pro-

tection for their children, others

have proved less than enthusias-

tic. The CDC has said only 28 per-

cent of children 5 t o 11 have been

fully vaccinated.

Health officials have recom-

mended booster shots for every-

one 12 and older and said people

50 and older, or those with

impaired immune systems, can

consider getting a s econd boost-

er.

More vaccine activity involv-

ing children is expected soon.

Those younger than 5 are the

only group without a ccess to any

coronavirus vaccine, a sore spot

for many frustrated parents.

They remain without the layer of

protection from the virus even as

many adults have ditched their

masks and attempt to return to

life before the pandemic.

Lena H. Sun contributed to this

report.

Pfizer booster for kids set for approval

AMANDA VOISARD FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

A young boy is vaccinated last year in the District. The FDA’s

expected booster approval comes as coronavirus cases tick up.

FDA ready to authorize

third coronavirus vaccine

dose for children 5 to 11

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