U.S. financial giants to meet lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss cryptocurrency policing

Well, things have started to move on in the cryptocurrency space in the U.S., with new developments taking place every day. To many, this seems to be a sign of things to come and the crypto world is keeping its fingers crossed in anticipation of something good. In another such move nearly 50 representatives are set to meet with Washington lawmakers in an attempt to have a comprehensive regulatory framework in place, which some say is incomplete and murky, reports CNBC. According to the report, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, is hosting the roundtable, "Legislating Certainty for Cryptocurrencies" on Tuesday, and has asked industry experts to weigh in how to police the new asset class ahead of a House bill he plans to introduce this fall. "Your input is critical to helping us pre-empt a heavy-handed regulatory approach that could stall innovation and kill the U.S. ICO market," Rep. Davidson said in a letter to invitees. The Congressman outlined a list of eight questions for the meeting, including "What is the best way to protect consumers from fraud?" The meeting will also cover private funding disclosures and token issuance laws, a spokesperson for Davidson said to CNBC. According to the attendee list seen by CNBC, the gathering is going to have some real heavyweights from Fidelity, State Street, leading venture capital firms Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, the NASDAQ, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Representing the crypto world-Ripple, Coinbase and Circle are also planning to be in the room. The need to have a robust regulatory framework in place came to light last year when Bitcoin surged to $20,000 and the crowdfunding process initial coin offering (ICOs) caught the attention of regulators. Other cryptocurrencies have also attracted a whole lot of retail investors, which has led the total funding this year climb to a mammoth $412 billion, as per the latest estimates from data firm Autonomous Next. There’s still a lot of confusion regarding regulations governing the multibillion-dollar crypto industry. Some industry leaders have complained that the laws should be flexible enough to accommodate digital assets. Rep. Davidson's bill would be the first of its kind in Congress. There has been a growing clamor for greater regulatory framework and support for blockchain and cryptocurrency. The new co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus Tom Emmer has made his intentions very clear by announcing on Friday that he wants to support the development and use of blockchain technology and cryptos. Emmer announced on Friday that he would introduce two bills and a resolution to support the industry and development of these promising and innovative technologies in the United States. While the Congress has yet to address the fundraising craze, the Securities and Exchange Commission has come down heavily on ICOs this year.

Need for a more inclusive approach towards cryptocurrency

The anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies is what makes it lucrative as well as susceptible to frauds, raising concerns about the safety of individual investors. While transactions are recorded on a public ledger, they're listed under an alphanumeric code known as a "public key," which doesn't reveal the trader's identity. Pat Berarducci, a lawyer for ConsenSys, said that most industry participants want to achieve the same goals as regulators. "There are a lot of regulators wanting the U.S. to develop 'do no harm' policies to allow innovation to grow, just like they did in the internet era," said Berarducci, who is attending the roundtable on Tuesday. While there is a growing demand for regulations to guide the cryptocurrency industry, there is also a feeling that extra care should be taken while drafting the laws regarding enterprise adoption. In an important development on Saturday, several prominent leaders representing nearly every aspect of both traditional and cryptocurrency finance jointly submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging the regulator to modernize its methods while dealing with digital assets. There’s a growing concern regarding the role of regulators while dealing with the cryptocurrency market in the U.S. If they crack the whip too hard, then there’s every possibility that the crypto companies will flock to safer havens and crypto hubs like Switzerland and Malta which are governed by less restrictive jurisdictions. See Also: US congressman leads the way in support of blockchain and cryptocurrencies U.S. SEC defers its decision on VanEck SolidX Bitcoin ETF to December 2018 Image via Shutterstock Join our Telegram group