The US government should regulate digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins under a new framework that fits the emerging technology's unique nature, Coinbase CEO Alesia Jeanne Haas said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2021) The US government should regulate digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins under a new framework that fits the emerging technology's unique nature, Coinbase CEO Alesia Jeanne Haas said on Wednesday
"First, we believe the government should regulate digital assets under a new framework. Our existing regulatory system does not work effectively for the open, decentralized networks that crypto has created," Haas said during testimony before the US House Financial Services Committee.
Responsibility for the new regulatory framework should be assigned to a single Federal regulator, Haas said. A dedicated self-regulatory organization should be established to strengthen oversight and provide greater supervision of digital asset marketplaces, Haas added.
Coinbase - the largest US digital asset exchange with the highest daily spot trading volume of Bitcoin - agrees with the goal of American tax authorities to ensure individuals and businesses pay the taxes they owe on digital assets, Haas said. However, provisions of the recently passed infrastructure bill could run counter to efforts to achieve parity with traditional finance and contain language that fails to recognize the technology's capabilities and limitations, she noted.
As it relates to concerns over the use of digital assets by criminal actors, Haas said that although there is a very real problem of criminals using a small group of non-compliant foreign exchanges to cash out illicit gains, they generally avoid larger exchanges like Coinbase that actively identify suspicious activity. Cryptocurrency technologies are tools that can actually help law enforcement identify and prevent criminal activities, Haas added.
Lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee heard testimony from witnesses including Haas and other digital asset executives about the challenges and benefits of using digital assets. They also questioned the executives about the technology and expressed their concerns about it, including its use in cyber and financial crimes.
