Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

US Congress sets sights on federal cryptocurrency rules

1255024
1255024
minus
plus

WASHINGTON: Jolted by the global investment craze over bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, US lawmakers are moving to consider new rules that could impose stricter federal oversight on the emerging asset class, several top lawmakers said.


Bipartisan momentum is growing in the Senate and House of Representatives for action to address the risks posed by virtual currencies to investors and the financial system, they said.


Even free-market Republican conservatives, normally wary of government red tape, said regulation could be needed if cryptocurrencies threaten the US economy.


“There’s no question about the fact that there is a need for a regulatory framework,” said Republican Senator Mike Rounds, a Senate Banking Committee member.


Digital assets currently fall into a jurisdictional gray area between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and individual states.


Much of the concern on Capitol Hill is focused on speculative trading and investing in cryptocurrencies, leading some lawmakers to push for digital assets to be regulated as securities and subject to the SEC’s investor protection rules.


“The SEC is properly the lead on the issue,” said Republican Representative Bill Huizenga, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets which will hold hearings on the issue in coming weeks.


Huizenga said the recent growth of the virtual currency market had made him more comfortable with more oversight.“Six months ago, we didn’t see this explosion. The marketplace has changed,” he said.


Carolyn Maloney, a Democratic senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, is another lawmaker advocating for direct oversight of digital assets by the SEC.


“A lot of people don’t realise there’s nothing backing these virtual currencies,” she said.


Virtual currencies have existed for years but speculation in them has recently ballooned, along with scams promising investors returns of over 1,000 per cent in weeks.


In a time of volatile markets, hackers are also active in the sector, stealing $530 million of digital currency from Japanese exchange Coincheck last month.


Bitcoin, the best known virtual currency, lost over half its value earlier this year after surging more than 1,300 per cent.


“We have to look carefully at all of the cryptocurrencies and make sure individuals don’t get taken advantage of,” said Representative Tom MacArthur, a House Financial Services Committee Republican. — Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon