Today, the Senate Banking Committee held its first hearing on the nomination of Gary Gensler to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. The role will have major influence on the future of crypto regulation, as the SEC has been a chokepoint for major areas like the status of initial coin offerings, approval of new exchange-traded funds, and crypto firms going public. In his appearance before the committee, however, Gensler was evasive about any specific changes he would make to the SEC's crypto policy. He supported prior decisions, like Bitcoin’s (BTC) exclusion from the SEC’s purview, but dodged any real commitment …

A U.S. Congress subcommittee is investigating if domestic extremists are turning to cryptocurrency as a source of funds for their activities. On Feb. 25, the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy will hold a hearing titled “Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection.” A committee memorandum ahead of the hearing stated that “as scrutiny by traditional banks and payment platforms increases, extremists are turning to solicitations of cryptocurrencies.” The memorandum lumps cryptocurrencies with other potential avenues for illicit activity financing including crowdfunding, charities, and social media platforms. Two main incidents are used to …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor's note Technology is by and large not the major barrier — though many in the industry have a decent bit of hubris about it. More important is that people, whenever their money is on the line, get mighty conservative. Which is not necessarily greedy or unreasonable, but it is why it was easier for lawmakers to greenlight email than electronic signatures. Conservatism surrounding money also means that old systems have to fail in a pretty conspicuous fashion for anyone to …

Vlad Tenev, Robinhood’s CEO, very much occupied the hot seat in today’s hearing before the House Financial Services Committee over January’s market volatility. None of the representatives seemed particularly interested in putting the screws to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and many seemed to give Keith Gill the same props the rest of us did. These aren’t the market manipulators you are looking for Gill, in all fairness, was the most likeable character involved, introducing his remarks by saying “A few things I am not: I am not a cat and I am not an accredited investor.” Gill, who really started …

Executives from companies involved in the recent controversy between hedge funds and retail investors from Reddit may be testifying at a House Financial Services Committee hearing next week. According to a Reuters report, two people familiar with the matter said executives from trading app Robinhood, investment manager Melvin Capital, and hedge fund Citadel are expected to testify in a congressional hearing scheduled for Feb. 18. Bloomberg reported that Citadel founder Ken Griffin is likely to be in attendance, as is Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. However, it is unclear at this time whether Melvin founder Gabriel Plotkin or anyone else from …

The Blockchain Association, a leading trade association and lobbying group, has hired Ron Hammond as its new director of government relations. The Blockchain Association has been one of Washington, D.C.'s biggest advocates for the crypto industry since its launch in 2018. Executive director Kristin Smith recently appeared on Cointelegraph's Top 100 list. Hammond, meanwhile, cut his teeth working on crypto policy for Representative Warren Davidson, most notably the Token Taxonomy Act, which is also the origin of the relationship with the Blockchain Association. It was at Davidson's roundtable for crypto industry stakeholders back in September 2018 that the Blockchain Association …

The Senate sees new legislation aiming to update antitrust laws for new technologies. Senator and former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Amy Klobuchar is introducing the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act today, Cointelegraph has learned. Sen. Klobuchar, who heads the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, is looking to put new burdens on companies seeking to acquire competitors. An announcement of the bill noted that it aims to "Shift the burden to the merging parties to prove their merger will not violate the law." The bill would also provide broad new legal authority and resources to the Justice Department's Antitrust …

The most vocally pro-crypto Senator in the U.S. will join the committee responsible for the nation's financial regulation. On Wednesday night, Senator Lummis's team told Cointelegraph that she had received her committee assignments for the 117th congress. The freshman Republican from Wyoming will take her place on three committees: banking, environment, and commerce. The Banking Committee is the Senate's front line for financial legislation and has hosted hearings with Facebook's leadership over the Libra stablecoin, as well as, more recently, prospects for a digital dollar. In a press announcement, Lummis noted her intention to use the appointment to the banking …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor's note “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” begins the most famous English-language story of the French Revolution. Though many would disagree with me, I would argue that neither is true of today. Maybe that’s why what passes for revolutions these days is so dependent on memes and lunatic viral conspiracy theories. That same memetic energy has brought together an unholy matrimony of anarchists, leftists, populists, jilted investment bros, Boogie boys and survivalists, AOC stans, …

Legislators are responding fast to the madness surrounding GameStop and AMC shares and the hedge funds selling them short. On Thursday, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters announced a coming hearing on short-selling. Sherrod Brown, the incoming chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, similarly called for a reexamination of stock market rules. Short-selling has been the subject of widespread controversy as the past two days have seen wild volatility for certain securities, especially Gamestop. Retail traders, communicating via Reddit and buying on Robinhood, have been busy buying up GME in the face of soon-to-expire short positions from …

Nine congresspeople have signed on to a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, telling him to hold his horses. The Thursday letter is in response to the Treasury's recent proposal to make registered crypto businesses hold on to more customer information, especially when transacting with self-hosted wallets. The proposal has been met with widespread outrage from the crypto community. Among grievances, many cite the fact that Mnuchin is pushing this rule out just weeks before the administration of Joe Biden comes into power, and with it his likely replacement, Janet Yellen. Accompanying new proposals for rules are invitations for public …

Several members of Congress have voiced opposition to a rumored blockade on self-hosted crypto wallets in the works at the U.S. Treasury. In a Dec. 9 letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, four members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus wanted answers for rumored Treasury rulemaking that would restrict self-hosted wallet usage in the U.S. The authors — Warren Davidson, Tom Emmer, Ted Budd and Scott Perry — argue that such limitations: "Would hinder American leadership and preclude meaningful participation in the technological innovation currently underway throughout the global financial system." Speaking to Cointelegraph, Davidson noted that Treasury rulemaking is likely …