According to some estimates, as many as 20% of Americans were invested in cryptocurrencies as of August 2021. While the exact number can vary significantly from one poll to another, it is clear that cryptocurrencies are no longer just a niche passion project for tech enthusiasts or a tool for financial speculation. Rather, digital assets have become a widespread investment vehicle with the prospect of becoming mainstream. Optimistic as that is, this level of mass adoption still does not enjoy a commensurate political representation, with senior United States politicians largely lagging behind the curve of crypto adoption. This makes the …

Last week saw an unlikely first move in the opening narrative battle around a prospective U.S. central bank digital currency: Congressperson Tom Emmer came forward with an initiative to legally restrict the Federal Reserve’s capacity to issue a retail CBDC and take on the role of a retail bank. This could be massively consequential as we are yet to see a similarly sharp-cut expression of an opposing stance. As a matter of fact, it is not even clear whether other U.S. lawmakers have strong opinions on the matter other than, perhaps, condemning privately issued stablecoins as a digital alternative to …

At her confirmation hearing in front of members of the Senate Banking Committee, Federal Reserve board of governors member Lael Brainard said Congress would ultimately have to decide to move forward with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Addressing pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday, Brainard said the Fed would welcome Congress “taking a very important role” in updating the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. When questioned as to the possible use of CBDCs to surveil users' financial activities — as Lummis alleged happens in China — Brainard again deferred the …

As Alex Tapscott put it, 2021 was the year when many governments and lawmakers began to finally wake up to the transformational potential of blockchain technology. Indeed, crypto’s global mainstreaming and growing market capitalization have made it difficult for the agents of power to ignore it and have rendered it a salient economic, social and political issue across many key jurisdictions. By all appearances, we are in for a busy year in crypto regulation and policymaking. Stablecoins, an asset class that attracted a fair amount of regulatory attention in 2021, will surely remain in the hot seat this year. For …

From the very beginning of the cryptocurrency movement, the societal potential of Bitcoin (BTC) has been one of the fundamental selling points. The decentralized design of crypto-based systems introduces the possibility of bringing individuals together to work toward shared goals, as well as enabling them to pool resources while remaining insulated from outside control. 2021 saw a number of cases that could serve as evidence of this emancipatory power of digital assets. ConstitutionDAO: $49 million raised in a few days Arguably, the most high-profile case of a massive fundraising effort enabled by a decentralized autonomous organization in 2021 was ConstitutionDAO. …

It is that time of the year: Singular events must be abandoned in favor of end-of-year, big-picture narratives and yearly lessons learned. As many governments across the globe finally had to face the rapidly mainstreaming realm of digital finance, the year is packed with developments in crypto policy and regulation that are impossible to fit into a neat little summary. However, it is possible to try and distill several major trends that have come to the fore during the past 12 months, and that will keep shaping the relationship among societies, state power and the crypto space as we roll …

A group of eight Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish an educational book for America’s federal policymakers, to reduce their reliance on the traditional media narrative on cryptocurrencies. The campaign managed to attract $23,151 in funding, nearly five times the goal of $5,000. The book was conceptualized soon after the United States House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which mandates stringent reporting requirements for the crypto community. According to the authors: “We set out to write a book to help policymakers understand where Bitcoin users are from and what they care about. We …

On Dec. 14, the United States Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing titled “Stablecoins: How Do They Work, How Are They Used, and What Are Their Risks?” The testimonies, both spoken and written, focused largely on the last two issues, as anxieties over Know Your Customer compliance and the U.S. dollar inflation threat dominated the discussion. Held less than a week after the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee’s hearing on digital assets, which was generally perceived as “constructive”, the meeting held by the Banking Committee was expected to be tough. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat …

Congressional lawmakers confirmed the nomination of Rostin Behnam, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission who had been serving as acting chairperson, to assume his position on a more permanent basis. In a Wednesday evening voice vote, members of the U.S. Senate approved President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the CFTC. Behnam has served as a commissioner since 2017 and acting chair following the departure of Heath Tarbert in January. Confirmed by voice vote: Executive Calendar #539 Rostin Behnam to be Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. — Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) December 16, 2021 At his confirmation hearing …

On Dec. 8, top executives from six major crypto companies faced the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee during a special hearing on digital assets. While the tone of the conversation was largely proclaimatory, the industry reacted with an optimistic buzz — it seems that crypto is bound to become a hot topic on the Hill for years to come. The meeting that took place in Congress also garnered much attention from mainstream media. What’s notable is the fact that this hearing is the first time that the industry’s senior leaders (aka “crypto moguls”) directly expressed the fears …

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs heard from several expert witnesses with knowledge of stablecoins who urged lawmakers to establish a clear regulatory framework but could not seem to agree on where lines would be drawn. In a Tuesday hearing on “Stablecoins: How Do They Work, How Are They Used, and What Are Their Risks?”, Hilary Allen, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, Alexis Goldstein, director of financial policy at Open Markets, Jai Massari, partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle, …

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren did not hold back in her criticism of decentralized finance, expressing concern about how a run on stablecoins would affect the average investor. In a Tuesday hearing with the Senate Banking Committee discussing stablecoins, Warren questioned Professor Hilary J. Allen of the American University Washington College of Law as to whether a run on stablecoins could potentially endanger the U.S. financial system. Though Allen said an “en masse” redemption of stablecoins from people who had lost faith in the tokens would be unlikely to have “systemic consequences” for traditional markets at present, the DeFi system would …