Members of the United States House of Representatives Committees on Financial Services met to discuss the clarity of the digital asset ecosystem, with some of them invoking recent legal actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the cryptocurrencies.
In a hearing on June 13, Maxine Waters, the commission’s ranking member, he claimed that Democrats were “seriously and carefully” considering a proposed framework put forward by Republicans to regulate digital assets. Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry said he expected bipartisan input on a bill that would be reviewed after Congress recessed in July.
Waters suggested that without thorough analysis and collaboration between the two political parties, digital asset legislation could leave the door open to potential fraud and misuse of client funds. The California representative cited the collapse of FTX, criminal charges against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and recent SEC actions against Binance and Coinbase.
“I am especially concerned that the Republican bill would allow crypto companies that are currently being sued for violating our securities laws to continue to do business through provisional registration,” Waters said. “The bill appears to stop any SEC enforcement action against crypto companies, even where they have committed fraud. This provisional record could reward bad actors with a “get out of jail free” card and allow them to continue harming consumers and investors”.
#TODAY @ 10 AM – RM @RepMaxineWaters leads Democrats as the full Cmte holds a hearing entitled “The Annual Testimony of the Secretary of the @USTreasury on the State of the International Financial System.”
: https://t.co/4RoxMIa04b
: https://t.co/x1uLfTjtuI— US House Committee on Financial Services (@FSCDems) June 13, 2023
The bill introduced on June 2 would prohibit the SEC from denying digital asset trading platforms registration as a regulated alternative trading system and would allow these firms to offer “digital commodities and payment stablecoins.” It would also restructure the roles that the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) play in regulating digital assets in the United States.
“The American public was the one that was left holding the bag when it came to FTX and when it came to the violations, or alleged violations when it comes to Binance and Coinbase,” Prometheum founder and co-CEO Aaron Kaplan said in a statement. the audience. “The best way forward is quite clear and logical, it is enforcement of the federal securities laws through the SEC.”
Other lawmakers have responded differently to the SEC’s seemingly regulatory approach. On June 12, Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican who also sits on the House Financial Services Committee, proposed firing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler through a bill that would also reshape power in the committee. . The legality of this measure is unclear.
Amid SEC lawsuits, Binance.US has opposed the commission’s efforts to freeze its funds. At press time, a federal judge in the District of Columbia was considering motions from the SEC, Binance, and Binance.US on how to handle the assets and other pending legal action.
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