Executives of the six leading crypto firms testified before congress today as the house weighs new rules and regulations.
The CEOs of six leading cryptocurrency firms testified before the US House Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday.
Executives from Circle, FTX, Bitfury Group, the Paxos Trust Company, Stellar Development Foundation and Coinbase fielded questions from members of the US House Committee on Financial Services.
The questions were related to digital currencies, stablecoins, blockchain technology, energy concerns, financial risk and regulation, among others.
This is the first time crypto leaders have explained their businesses to U.S. lawmakers amid growing concerns cryptocurrencies may pose systemic risks and hurt investors.
The industry leaders on Wednesday urged the Congress to provide clearer rules for the booming $3 trillion crypto industry, but warned that overly tough restrictions would push it overseas.
“Without tailored legislative solutions that are openly debated with public participation, the United States risks unnecessarily onerous and chilling laws and regulations,” warned Alesia Haas, chief executive of Coinbase Inc.
Lawmakers looked informed and curious to know more from the crypto leaders during the fact finding exercise. Analysts believe Congress is not going to make new crypto rules anytime soon, and lawmakers treated the hearing primarily as a fact-finding exercise.
In general lawmakers were not so critical, in particular Republicans, even praised the crypto leaders for their efforts on what could be a pivotal technology.
Representative Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, said:
“I am tremendously impressed. I see a lot of ingenuity, a lot of entrepreneurial spirit. We need to be supportive of you.”
Congressman Patrick McHenry, said:
Congress shouldn’t be dumb enough to raise a red flag around this technological revolution. We should embrace it. We should understand it. We should be the international leaders.
Coinbase Inc. CEO Alesia Haas, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX Trading CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Dennelle Dixon and BitFury head Brian Brooks today testified before the congress.
The hearing is really crucial not only for the cryptocurrency industry but more importantly for the lawmakers who are struggling to understand the new financial product and ways to regulate it properly.
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