Regulation remains a primary stream of crypto news in recent weeks. Incoming U.S. infrastructure legislation will be one of the driving macroeconomic factors for the market going forward. As such, investors are taking up a great interest in the almost daily updates that are surfacing. Today’s news comes thanks to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). The body’s new advisory has big implications for the shape legislation will take in the States.
Since taking backseat to larger macroeconomic conversations and foreign policy emergencies, crypto legislation is once again joining the fold. Recent weeks have seen some of the bigger instances of crypto policy talk since late last year when lawmakers began setting the agenda. Notably, President Joe Biden and White House officials began meeting with working groups to talk about stablecoin policy. Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Lummis fielded her long-awaited, bipartisan crypto infrastructure bill. The bill is being praised by crypto bulls as one of the most crypto-friendly pieces of legislature to be introduced thus far. But, it is also being deeply scrutinized for its contradictions and incompleteness.
Outside of this bill and several others, though, investors don’t yet have a concrete idea of how legislation will go. Will infrastructure favor bulls and truly promote innovation in the space? Or, might it side with the skeptics, putting pressure on projects in order to protect retail investors? While we don’t yet know the scope of working groups’ thoughts, news today is a bad sign for crypto faithful.
Crypto News: OGE Ostracizes Crypto Holders From Regulations
This week’s crypto news is certainly going to upset crypto bulls. The OGE has published a legal advisory notice which bans government officials from participating in crypto legislation.
The OGE’s advisory will prevent any official who owns crypto assets from being able to assist in the construction of regulations. Those primarily affected by the ban are White House officials who own crypto assets, as well as those from regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Reserve. Those who have sold previous holdings are safe from the advisory. As such, any current holders can divest their holdings to avoid the ban.
Concern has been rising in recent months regarding crypto regulations as more lawmakers invest in the space. As more people scrutinize Congress members for their own trading activities while in office, a pivot among some to the crypto market is breeding concerns in how fair regulations will end up being. Lawmakers have sold millions of dollars worth of crypto assets since the beginning of 2021. They are not subject to the advisory. However, these lawmakers will have the final say in approving the infrastructure bill. Cryptocurrency investors tend to lean Republican, while Democrats invested in the space typically do so through crypto-adjacent stocks.
While the announcement is good news to skeptics and others tough on the industry, bulls are incensed by it. Some are calling the move out as “hypocrisy,” arguing that the laws will skew harsher because of the exclusion of crypto fans.
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.
