Congress is closing in on the cryptocurrency industry. While the early months of the year had investors wondering whether regulations would be coming soon, now there is no question. More frequently, lawmakers and financial regulators are bringing up the elephant in the room. In this week’s crypto news, Congress is once again broaching the topic of digital assets. One of the most talked-about moments in the aftermath of the meeting are comments from Cardano (ADA-USD) founder Charles Hoskinson.
Hoskinson has skin in the crypto game, there’s no doubt. He was one of the co-founders of Ethereum (ETH-USD). While he didn’t stick around for the full launch of the network, he has been entrenched in the space ever since through his company, Input Output Hong Kong. Today, he and Input Output are steering one of the largest layer-1 networks competing with Ethereum: Cardano.
While he is not busy running the network, Hoskinson is being vocal about the industry and regulations. In fact, he has talked at length with Harvard University on the topic of regulations, often criticizing Congressional practices as archaic and incapable of properly regulating an industry like crypto.
Hoskinson recently had a chance to let members of Congress hear what he has to say about the practice. The legislative body has been gearing up its talks in recent months after a quiet period following President Joe Biden’s crypto executive order. Congress is readying itself to potentially create crypto infrastructure within the year.
Now, the lawmaking authority is once again inviting industry experts into the Capitol to give their opinions. Charles Hoskinson was invited, and his pitch to Congress makes for one of the most interesting takes on crypto regulation thus far.
Crypto News: Charles Hoskinson Pitches Computer-Run Regulations
Crypto news this week is focused on the Congressional meeting held on Thursday, in which lawmakers opened up the Capitol to blockchain experts and financial regulators like Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve. Hoskinson was one of the experts on the panel, and he laid out quite a pitch.
Representative Austin Scott opened up the conversation with Hoskinson by calling attention to the sheer manpower needed to regulate the whole crypto market. There are thousands upon thousands of coins and tokens, and Scott said the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) both lack the manpower needed to monitor the industry.
Hoskinson’s pitch is that Congress should allow software to regulate the industry. “This is a new technology and a radically new asset class that can not readily fit within the confines of the laws and tests created almost a century ago,” Hoskinson said.
He added that cryptocurrencies can be built in a way that keep transactions from settling before regulatory checks are made. By automating the process through software, there is no need for the SEC nor the CFTC to increase manpower.
The idea of automation, while appealing from a logistics perspective, certainly won’t be a hit with many. Hoskinson argues the industry should be given the tools to regulate itself, similar to the way private banks do. Endowing the private sector with these immense powers likely won’t go over well with bearish lawmakers. Still, though, Hoskinson’s pitch does help to expand the horizons for what crypto infrastructure might look like.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
