framework, leaving investments in the digital
asset space vulnerable to fraud, manipulation
and abuse,” said California Democratic Rep.
Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House
financial services committee.
Many Republicans on the committee,
meanwhile, pushed for a light touch on
regulation. Tennessee Rep. John Rose, for
example, asked industry executives how
Congress could prevent innovation from leaving
the United States and happening offshore.
“I’m optimistic that on the regulatory side, we’re
not that far from that point,” said Sam Bankman-
Fried, CEO of trading exchange FTX. “I think
there are a few clarifications that could go a very
long way here.”
He cited having a single, unified regulatory
framework for the trading of actual
cryptocurrencies and the futures contracts
related to them, as well as having audit
requirements for the reserves of stablecoins,
among other things.
Alesia Haas, chief financial officer of Coinbase
Global, said the U.S. government should create
a new regulatory framework for digital assets.
“Our existing regulatory system does not
work effectively for the open, decentralized
networks that crypto has created,” she said in
written testimony.
The tensions are growing only bigger as the
industry balloons in size and as more investors
pour into the market, either because they
believe in the future of crypto or because
they’re looking to make a quick buck.
Cryptocurrencies are collectively valued at
nearly $2.4 trillion, roughly the same size as