The biggest regulatory story of the week was a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing squarely focused on crypto. Even the event’s title — “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States” — conveyed a different vibe than countless previous Congressional meetings that had been first and foremost about investor protection or security risks or threats to financial stability. Judging from reactions from many industry participants and experts, the exchange has been received as an overwhelming net positive, with legislators asking informed questions and otherwise acting like …

Democratic representative for California Brad Sherman joked about how ridiculous a “Mongoose Coin” would be on Wednesday — and by Friday it had become a reality. During Wednesday’s hearing on crypto at the House Financial Services Committee, Sherman spun a tale of an old woman who swallows bigger and bigger animals to eat the animals previously swallowed. He likened this fable to cryptocurrencies dethroning each other, explaining that Bitcoin (BTC) could be unseated by Ethereum (ETH), which in turn could be displaced by Dogecoin (DOGE), and then Hamster Coin, and then Cobra Coin. “What could Mongoose Coin do to Crypto …

Illinois Representative Marie Newman has disclosed she purchased up to $50,000 in exposure to crypto through shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. According to a financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 8, Congressperson Newman bought between $15,001 and $50,000 of GBTC between Nov. 9 and Dec. 4. In addition, she conducted four separate purchases of shares of Coinbase Global’s Class A stock between November and December, up to $215,000. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are permitted to buy, sell and trade stocks and other investments while in office but required to …

Bitfury CEO and former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has hinted the regulatory environment in the United States could drive many crypto firms outside the country, and has already stymied companies attempting to offer a variety of financial products. Speaking at a Wednesday hearing on Digital Assets and the Future of Finance with the House Committee on Financial Services, congressperson Ted Budd said he feared the current policy of regulation by enforcement in the U.S. could “force the next generation of financial tech to be created outside of our country.” Speaking of behalf of Bitfury, Brooks said: “There …

The House Committee on Financial Services heard from several chief executive officers at major crypto firms in the United States, some of whom seemed to present a united front in urging lawmakers to provide a clear regulatory framework for crypto. Speaking at a Wednesday hearing on Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Alesia Haas, the CEO of Coinbase Inc. and the CFO of Coinbase …

The United States House Committee on Financial Services released a memorandum detailing the points of discussion during the hybrid hearing on digital assets, to be held today at 10:00 a.m. ET. Addressing the members of the Financial Services Committee, the memo confirmed that the hearing will dedicate one panel to six executives from the crypto community as witnesses. The list includes Circle’s Jeremy Allaire, FTX’s Samuel Bankman-Fried, Bitfury Group’s Brian Brooks, Paxos’ Charles Cascarilla, Stellar’s Denelle Dixon and Coinbase’s Alesia Jeanne Haas. The hearing, entitled “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation …

Do you remember the time when a fleeting mention of Bitcoin, stablecoins, or even central bank digital currencies by a top-ranking government official was considered major news all over the cryptoverse? Feels like It’s been forever. As we find ourselves in the midst of digital assets’ global mainstreaming, such statements come in droves every day and are expected. Randal Quarles, an outgoing member of the U.S. Fed’s board of governors, warned against overregulating stablecoins and even rebuked some of the conclusions that the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets had articulated in its November report. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted …

Bahamian-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX released a list of principles and proposals to help policymakers build the regulatory framework. The policy recommends the market-structure choices made by several leading crypto exchanges and suggests its implementation across all jurisdictions. FTX shared the “FTX’ s Key Principles for Market Regulation” blog after Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, invited several CEOs of major crypto firms to testify on the topic of digital assets and the future of finance. Out of the 10 key principles, one of the recommendations calls for an alternative regulatory approach that proposes a unified …

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has given her opinions on the potential of a digital dollar but is hesitant to come to any conclusions at this stage in proceedings. Yellen said on Thursday that she had not formed a view on whether the Federal Reserve should create a digital version of the dollar, but such a move would require broad consensus among Congress, the U.S. central bank and the White House. This follows the recent reports that the Federal Reserve is currently researching whether an electronic version of the greenback would be beneficial or not. Yellen said that she sees …

Aarika Rhodes, a Democrat running to represent California's 30th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, has begun to accept campaign contributions in Bitcoin using the Lightning Network. In a Tuesday message to her more than 21,000 Twitter followers, Rhodes said her campaign website had started using Lighting for campaign contributions in addition to the BitPay options for Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). According to the congressional candidate, the move was aimed at making her campaign more accessible for voters, who will consider Rhodes in California’s primary election in June 2022 and potentially the general election later that …

As the perceived legitimacy of blockchain technology increases, politicians in the U.S. have shown a growing interest in turning this non-partisan technology into a topic of political divisiveness. Speaking via video to an audience of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Friday, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said while cryptocurrencies were an “interesting” technology, they also had the power to undermine the U.S. dollar and destabilize nations — “perhaps starting with small ones but going much larger.” While no longer the leader of the Democratic Party, Clinton’s sentiment on crypto resembles that of top Democrat and senator Elizabeth …

The Joint Economic Committee, which includes Republican and Democratic members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, will be holding a hearing on the role of government concerning crypto. According to the Joint Economic Committee’s, or JEC’s schedule for next week, congressional members will be listening to industry experts speak at a hearing called “Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and the Role of Government” on Nov. 17. Representative Don Beyer — who has previously proposed legislation expanding the regulatory and legal framework for digital assets in the U.S. — will be chairing the hearing. Industry experts scheduled to speak …