A number of U.S. lawmakers called for Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman to support cryptocurrency innovation. “The Federal Reserve must work to support domestic innovation … Our government should never be in the business of thwarting innovation.”
Members of Congress Demand that Fed Chair Powell Support Crypto Innovation
Several U.S. Congress members have sent a letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell asking him several questions regarding the Fed’s effort on cryptocurrency regulation. Reps. Tom Emmer and Darren Soto, Frank Lucas and Ted Budd signed the bipartisan letter asking for questions about Fed’s efforts to regulate cryptocurrency. “GT”Thompson, Eric Swalwell
Rep. Emmer described:
Empowering individual Americans to become everyday investors should be our highest priority – decentralized digital assets provide that opportunity. The Federal Reserve must work to support domestic innovation … Our government should never be in the business of thwarting innovation.
The congressman stated that his letter had been rejected by the president. “highlights concern with Powell’s statement that the biggest supporting argument for a Fed-issued digital currency is that it could eliminate the need for private sector innovation.”
The letter mentions that cryptocurrencies can be subject to regulation. “overlapping regulation from multiple regulators,”The Fed, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network(FinCEN), Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commissions (CFTC) are all included.
It is important to note that crypto adoption was “hobbled by a lack of regulator clarity,”Powell was asked by the Fed’s staff what steps they are taking “to coordinate with other federal regulators on the development of policy guidance for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, and other critical related policy issues such as custody and accounting, to ensure the United States remains a leader in financial innovation.”
A question was also put to the Fed chair about the Fed’s current actions. “on its own or in coordination with regional Federal Reserve Banks to provide regulatory clarity to banks that wish to offer cryptocurrency or other digital asset custody to their customers.”
Chairman Powell was further questioned when the Fed plans to release the discussion paper on the design of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) and whether he believes a CBDC would make cryptocurrencies and their applications — “from decentralized identity to decentralized file storage” — obsolete.
The lawmakers’ letter to Powell concludes with a request:
We appreciate your prompt reply, not later than October 15th 2021 to the questions listed in this correspondence.
Powell testified before a House Financial Services Committee committee in July. He stated that “you wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t need cryptocurrencies if you had a digital U.S. currency.”Recently, he admitted that he had misspoken and that the word “cryptocurrencies” should be removed from the statement. Last week, he told Rep. Budd that he does not intend to restrict or ban the use of cryptocurrency.
What do you think of the U.S. legislators urging Fed Chair Powell support crypto innovation? Comment below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki Commons.
Disclaimer: This article serves informational purposes only. This article is not intended to be a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any products or services. Bitcoin.com doesn’t offer investment, tax or legal advice. The author and the company are not responsible for any loss or damage caused or alleged caused by the use or reliance of any content, goods, or services in this article.