The Hearing
The open session, titled “ Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain” began at 10 am EST. The hearing features the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban affairs and expert witnesses such as Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire, representing the Blockchain Association; Rebecca Nelson, a member of the Congressional Research Service specializing in international trade and finance; and Mehrsa Baradaran, a law professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law.
Who are they?
Jeremy Allaire
Allaire is a technologist and entrepreneur who has built and led multiple global internet technology firms with thousands of employees, hundreds of millions of consumers served, and multiple successful public offerings.
Today, Allaire is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle, a global crypto financial services company that provides individuals, institutions and entrepreneurs with a platform to invest in, store, trade and use digital assets, and raise capital through online securities offerings.
In his written testimony, Allaire stated his concerns that “Without a sound, pragmatic, and agile national policy framework for digital assets, I am concerned that the United States will not be the world’s leader in this critical new technology, that it will continue to fall behind, and that it will not fully reap the benefits of the economic transformation that digital assets will bring”.
“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.”
Rebecca Nelson
Nelson is neither for nor against crypto, she has been working in international trade and finance at the Congressional Research service since 2009, receiving her degree from Harvard university. In her written testimony, Nelson discusses the international landscape of digital currencies and emerging policy issues. She also responds to potential reasons on why Libra has been met with an unprecedented amount of resentment.
Mehrsa Baradaran
Baradaran is a Iran-born law professor specializing in banking law at the University of California. As a professor, she is familiar with cryptocurrencies as she had been following the space for years, however, she has often criticized bitcoin for lacking the potential to be a tool to close the wealth gap due to its high volatility and limited adoption.
Baradaran finished her opening testimony by stressing that there are inequalities and problems in the U.S. banking system that must be fixed, but only “through democratic means”. She reiterated that “cryptocurrencies want to take over where our public institutions have failed,” and firmly believes that it is ultimately the duty of Congress.
Watch the hearing live here: It is not clear yet if any specific legislation will materialize form this hearing
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