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U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters has formed a committee that will tackle the issues related to cryptocurrencies. The group formed the House of Democrats who will first try to understand this unregulated crypto industry.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-calif) has decided to form a group of Democratic House members to tackle the increasing issue of cryptocurrency. This decision has come in the wake of growing concern against unregulated cryptocurrency.
In a virtual meeting with the FinTech Task Force, Waters made this announcement. In the meeting, she also discussed Central Bank digital currency (CBDCs).
Also read: The United States Treasury Department Approved Stablecoins & Blockchains For Bank Payments
Understanding the unregulated crypto industry
Water is the Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. She informed that the group formed will work to engage with regulators and experts to deeply understand this poorly understood and minimally regulated industry. However, it is not known which representatives are involved in the committee.
She had also shared that CBDC is more likely to gain traction once launched. The pressure of regulation is coming due to the rising demand of the CBDC backed by the Federal Reserve. She said that once it is rolled out, it will drive out bogus digital private money.
The meeting was primarily about CBDCs and the potential risks and rewards of a public digital dollar system. The other panellists who participated in the virtual meeting were Dr Neha Narula of the MIT Media Lab, and Rohan Grey, a law professor at Willamette University.
Non supporter of crypto
Water was never a supporter of cryptocurrency and has always been critical of its unregulated nature. She was very critical of last month’s cyber attacks against the colonial pipeline. The ransom was paid in bitcoin, which sparked new discussions on regulating crypto.
She had earlier this year showed her disagreement against the decisions made by former President Trump’s appointee for comptroller of the currency, Brian Books.
Brian was the former Coinbase executive who during his tenure in President’s Trump period, granted several federal charters to crypto companies, creating the first American crypto banks. Waters felt that this approach was too lenient. Thankfully, she is not only the one who has a negative feeling about crypto and the lack of regulation.
Warren warns of increasing use of cryptocurrencies
Last week Senator Elizabeth Warren shared the same sentiments during a virtual briefing and felt that it should be regulated properly. She termed cryptocurrency as Wild West. It should have the control of the regulated authorities.
She asked the policymakers to tackle the issues with the increasing use of cryptocurrencies. She feels that the Federal Reserve backed digital currency carries great promises.
She is also concerned about the increasing scams and said that cryptocurrencies have created opportunities to scam investors, assist criminals, and also impact the environment. It is time to confront these issues so that fellow Americans are saved from upheaval.
She is very supportive of the CBDC and believes that it will boost the poor Americans and streamline the payments system if designed properly. Meanwhile, the Republicans are questioning the future of a federally backed product. They feel that it is not necessary and the introduction of such a product will hamper the growth of the traditional banking system.
The hearing that took place last week by the Senate Banking Committee debates on the Fed-backed digital currency. The Central Bank is exploring the issue as their counterparts, led by China, take steps to establish their digital currency.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
