It’s time, US Govt. To Examine Future of Cryptocurrencies As Money In A Hearing on July 18th

Cryptocurrencies and blockchains have created such a stir over past couple of years that there is hardly anyone who has not heard of them. Same is the case with US lawmakers and policy drafters who are discussing, debating and arguing how to regulate or isolate the technology on the block.

One such hearing is going to commence on July 18th (next Wednesday) at 2 pm EST, where the US parliamentary sub-committee on Monetary Policy and Trade, called the Digital Currency: The Future of Money.

Cryptocurrencies as money, but to what extent

As the Parliamentary Committee on Financial Services prepares to hear on digital currencies, it could be indicative that the US could be working around regulations

The memorandum released United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services states that

“The Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade will hold a hearing entitled, The Future of Money: Digital Currency” at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18, 2018, in Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building”

The panel would comprise of some prominent personalities from the field of Economics, Finance, and Data. This would include

• Dr. Rodney J. Garratt, Maxwell C., and Mary Pellish Chair, Professor of Economics, University of California Santa Barbara
• Dr. Norbert J. Michel, Director, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation
• Dr. Eswar S. Prasad, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
• Mr. Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior Fellow, R Street Institute

This hearing will try to establish and examine the extent to which the American Government should consider cryptocurrencies as federal money and the potential domestic and international utility for cryptocurrencies.

The Subcommittee will also try to evaluate the merits of utility by central banks of cryptocurrencies and discuss the future of both cryptocurrencies and physical cash.

Also, read: Bitcoin Analysis: Why SEC Might Approve BitcoinETF? What’s Different This Time?

Is the US regulation of Cryptocurrency around the corner?

With so much of buzz in the political corridors with the word cryptocurrency, one can definitely sense and relate this to that there could be cryptocurrency regulation coming through. In February US Office of Justice had set up a Taskforce for cybersecurity which had cryptocurrency in its purview.  

Last week, President Donald Trump passed an executive order for setting up a task force for keeping a check on activities related to Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. And now the hearing by the parliamentary committee.

With SEC already announcing that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities, this task force and political hearing just makes one analysis that US regulators are just building a legislation web around cryptos and sooner or later there could be a regulation coming in

Do you think the US is actually putting in efforts to draft a regulation with all these activities? Do let us know your views on the same.