McHenry said he would prioritize cryptocurrency regulation if he became the House Financial Services Committee chairman. Maxine Waters also mentioned stablecoins and the topic of digital wallets, stressing the need to simplify the use of technology.
According to Patrick McHenry, the conversation on FinTech needs to address the solution to real-world problems again. The senior member of the US House Financial Services Committee is in talks about legislation that might bring further clarity to stablecoins.
McHenry said there was no US federal definition of digital assets or stablecoins, which he describes as retrograde. McHenry, the House Financial Services Committee chairwoman Maxine Waters and the Treasury Department have negotiated legislation to regulate stablecoins. He expressed optimism about the bipartisan nature of the new law and the compromises between him and Waters.
The representative defined having stablecoins, regulating wallets, and determining a federal regulator as open questions. He believes those decisions are less science and more art, as the resulting draft still needs to be more attractive.
McHenry said he would prioritize cryptocurrency regulation if he became the next chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He has supported bipartisanship in cryptocurrency legislation for a long time.
Waters also mentioned stablecoins and the topic of digital wallets, stressing the need to make the technology easy to use. She made that remark since she considers the traditional system often excludes people.
The Financial Stability Oversight Board of the Treasury Department advised legislators to assign regulatory responsibility for cryptocurrencies to regulators. Many bills, like the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 and the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, seek to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan Introduces a Bill to Regulate Cryptocurrency Miners Further
Although Kazakhstan is among the world leaders in cryptocurrency mining, it has problems with gray miners that operate without the necessary licenses. The lower parliament house has passed five new bills that might solve those issues.
Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva, a Committee for Economic Reform and Regional Development member, considers the legislation would change the situation positively. It would force cryptocurrency miners to seek authorization from relevant financial regulators, create legal entities, and pay taxes.
She added that the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry would also regulate the activities of miners and mining pools.
If the new legal framework becomes official, it will impose global taxes on importing cryptocurrency mining equipment. In addition, it will require miners to trade up to 75% of their capital on local cryptocurrency exchanges since 2024.
Smyshlyaeva said they made cryptocurrency transactions transparent by transferring them to Kazakh exchanges. According to the project, those platforms subject to financial monitoring will integrate with the information systems of the State Revenue Commission.
The official stated that introducing a registry of mining equipment would exclude the operation of illegal data centers. Therefore, granting licenses should solve the problem with gray miners and guarantee the security and balance of the energy system.
Some estimates indicate that over one million residents in Kazakhstan have used crypto assets for international trade. The government agency plans to bring all those cryptocurrency users to the local cryptocurrency exchanges.
By Alexander Salazar
