Legislating on Crypto - US Approaches

Short presentation on US approaches to crypto legislation as of December 2021, delivered as part of a panel on Legislating on Crypto - Jurisdictional Approaches.

Delivered at the Seminar on Cryptocurrencies and Central Bank Digital Currencies, jointly organized by the Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA), December 2, 2021.

Transcript

1. Legislating on Crypto: US Approaches Angela Walch @angela_walch Professor St. Mary’s University School of Law Research Associate UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies CEMLA-FSI Seminar on Cryptocurrencies and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) 2 Dec. 2021 1 UCL CENTRE FOR BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES
2. Past • Fragmented regulatory structure at Federal level. • Regulators have largely used existing authorities thus far. – Issued guidance, given speeches. – Regulation by enforcement. • States have created more comprehensive frameworks (e.g., Wyoming). • Regulatory uncertainty? 2 December 2021 2
3. Present • Sense of focus and urgency – Turf Wars – Hearings – Interagency “sprints” and working groups/papers. – Numerous bills proposed in Congress • Topics of focus – Identifying gaps in existing regulatory frameworks. – Thinking through desirable level of integration of crypto within TradFi. – Tax compliance (Crypto used as a “pay for” in infrastructure bill). – Investor protection – manipulation, concentration, intermediaries – Financial stability / systemic risk – Stablecoins / DeFi – Legal & regulatory clarity – more value placed on crypto as a productive industry. 2 December 2021 3
4. Future • Increased enforcement from certain agencies, particularly SEC. • Crypto as a political “football.” • Much heavier lobbying presence from crypto industry. – Many regulators now working in crypto (revolving door). – Crypto wealth as political weapon. • Gridlock will affect attempts to pass more comprehensive legislation. • Risk that regulators will be overwhelmed by scale of crypto and lose credibility. 2 December 2021 4
5. angelawalch.com Twitter: @angela_walch awalch@stmarytx.edu UCL CENTRE FOR BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES