People dealing in cryptocurrency aren’t really fans of government regulation and oversight of the digital asset class. Cryptocurrency values often take a beating when it seems like some major countries might impose stricter rules on digital assets like bitcoin and others. According to a new report, lawmakers in the United States are moving to consider new rules that could allow stricter federal oversight of cryptocurrencies.
Reuters quotes several top lawmakers who say that there’s bipartisan momentum in the Senate and House of Representatives for action to tackle the risks associated with virtual currencies for investors and the overall financial system.
Some major U.S. banks have been concerned about these risk as well which is why they’re no longer allowing their customers to buy bitcoin with credit card because they don’t want that kind of credit risk on their books. Customers are free to purchase cryptocurrencies using their debit cards.
“There’s no question about the fact that there is a need for a regulatory framework,” said Republican Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Banking Committee.
Capitol Hill is reportedly mainly concerned about speculative trading and investing in cryptocurrencies and since they currently exist in a jurisdictional gray area between the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and even individual states, some lawmakers want them to be regulated as securities which would subject them to SEC’s investor protection rules.
“The goal here is to have rules of the road that protect consumers without trying to squash innovation,” said Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is also a member of the Senate Banking Committee.
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