US Congress Holds Hearing on Crypto: Witness Profiles

Today, on July 30, United States lawmakers will once again gather to debate cryptocurrency and blockchain policy in a hearing dubbed "Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain." The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST and will be broadcast live.

The witness panel will be represented by Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of payments company Circle, who will speak on behalf of the Blockchain Association; Rebecca M. Nelson, a specialist in international trade and finance at congressional think tank the Congressional Research Service; and law professor Mehrsa Baradaran from the Irvine School of Law at the University of California.

In February 2018, Allaire's company announced that it purchased Poloniex, a major U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange for $400 million.

In September the same year, Circle launched a USD-backed stablecoin dubbed USD Coin.When, at the start of July, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted regarding cryptocurrencies, blasting Bitcoin and Libra, Allaire responded on Twitter.

"Possibly the largest bull signal for BTC ever. Crypto now a Presidential / Global policy issue. People everywhere will embrace a mix of sovereign and non-sovereign digital currency."

Allaire is strongly pro-regulation, as he has stressed numerous times that the crypto space needs more regulatory certainty.

In December 2018, Nelson presented a report to Congress dubbed "International Approaches to Digital Currencies." At the end of the 20-pages long document, she stated that "a number of potential oversight issues and questions for Congress," like "What lessons might be gleaned from other countries that could inform U.S. regulations of the cryptocurrency Market?".

"Facebook has garnered far more interest and backlash against its cryptocurrency plans than other traditional financial MNCs, due to questions about Facebook's alleged lack of expertise in the banking sector, the size of its network, and concerns about its handling of user data."

In Baradaran's view, cryptocurrencies can help the unbanked only if all of the workforce and organizations move to adopt the cryptocurrencies.

Baradaran finishes her testimony by stressing that there are inequalities and problems in the U.S. banking system and they must be fixed, but only "Through democratic means." She then stresses that "Cryptocurrencies want to take over where our public institutions have failed," but argues that it is ultimately the duty of Congress.