Democrats continue to secretly push their war on the U.S. crypto industry. Ahead of yesterday’s House Financial Services Committee hearing on digital assets, titled “The Future of Digital Assets: Measuring Regulatory Gaps in Digital Asset Markets,” a memo was circulated to Democratic committee members revealing the agenda.
The memo was leaked by Eleanor Terrett of Fox Business. It contains "key information" for Democratic committee members to follow. The party leadership's rules make it clear that the US Democratic Party wants to bring the industry under their full control, and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is at the forefront.
Among other things, key statements in the memo include Republicans’ claim that they wanted to bring more clarity to the market by giving the CFTC the cryptocurrency space, but instead, they simultaneously “undermined” the agency and hurt it by proposing budget cuts. Republicans on the committee reportedly plan to try to pass crypto-friendly legislation by the end of June.
US Democrats back Gensler in cryptocurrency war
Among other information in the memo, it’s clear that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is the general in this war. Commission members were told to commend Gensler for “building the strongest enforcement team to date” to “combat cryptocurrency criminals and protect investors and consumers from harm.”
Unfortunately, committee Republicans want to change direction and tie the SEC’s hands. The SEC must continue to lead the regulation of the U.S. crypto market.
Additionally, Democratic committee members were instructed to deny a “turf war” because “no one is fighting it.” According to the memo, both the SEC and the CFTC agree that the SEC is the regulator that determines whether cryptocurrencies are securities. The SEC has explicitly stated in the past that “virtually all crypto assets are securities. End of story.”
Furthermore, the memo states that regulatory ambiguity is not the problem, “but rather the massive noncompliance with existing laws,” adding: “We cannot invent new, adaptable regulatory structures simply because crypto companies refuse to follow clear rules.”
U.S. Republicans step up pressure on SEC
As the Democratic Party pushes for a war on cryptocurrency, Republicans are defending the industry. On Tuesday, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga sent a letter to Gensler asking his agency to make public internal documents and communications with Sam Bankman-Fried.
Republicans believe that Gensler has failed to fulfill its duties as a regulator while politicizing an agency that is supposed to protect investors from scams. It is worth noting that just yesterday, US President Biden called for closing an $18 billion tax loophole, which caused an uproar in society.
