The subcommittee of digital assets of the United States Senate celebrated its first audience on Wednesday under the leadership of Senator Cynthia Lummis, who recently assumed the group’s direction.
The hearing, entitled «Explore Bipartisan Legislative Marcos for Digital Assets,» marked a key step in the debate on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country, since the Senators of the Subcommittee requested testimonies to four entrepreneurs specializing in the Bitcoin and cryptoactive ecosystem.
The specialists underlined the urgency of establishing clear rules for this sector in constant growth, while the exchange of questions and answers between legislators and guests He showed the different visions on how to address this technology.
Jonathan Jachym, global director of Kraken’s government policies and relations, one of the most recognized exchanges in the market, took the floor to talk about memecoins, those cryptocurrencies inspired by Internet memes, of which he said they are not a passing phenomenon.
Jachym recalled that Doge, the first of this type, It has been in the market for more than a decade. «This is not something new, it is in a trend now,» he said, and suggested that the recent interest in them responds to regulatory uncertainty in the United States, which has prevented a broader development of the ecosystem.
The expert said that «it is clear that memecoins are not securities» and explained that in Kraken all the assets to strict evidence of due diligence, cybersecurity and legal compliance, in addition to applying rigorous protocols of knowledge-tu-client (KYC) for those who operate on their platform, which reflects an effort to maintain maintain An ordered market while requested a broader approach to regulation.
«A regulatory framework is necessary»
For his part, Timothy Massad, former president of the Basic Future Negotiation Commission (CFTC), intervened to point out that the United States needs a regulatory framework that encourages the responsible development of cryptocurrency technologywithout feeding speculation or abuses that have marked the sector in recent years.
Massad put on the table the theme of the stablecoins, digital currencies linked to the dollar or other Fíat assets, highlighting them as “the most useful application of this technology today”.
The specialist, although partially supported the Genius bill, a legislative initiative that seeks to regulate the Stablecoins, warned that the project has important deficiencies against stronger proposals or regulations already implemented in Europe. Therefore, he called to extend the regulatory perimeter «to face challenges such as money laundering and terrorism financing,» given the ability of these currencies to operate without centralized intermediaries.
Massad also pointed out that for four years the cryptocurrency industry has requested the Bag and Securities Commission (SEC) and the CFTC and the CFTC Clear rules instead of sanctions -based regulationsand stressed that the SEC has taken recent steps such as abandoning some cases and creating a working group, so it suggested waiting for these initiatives to advance before hurrying legislative changes.
That said by Massad found Eco in Jai Massari, executive director of Lightspark, a company that develops the Bitcoin Lightning Network and collaborated with Coinbase in 2024 to integrate that technology.
The businesswoman questioned the Genius project by saying that «it goes far in providing the fundamental elements that will make Stablecoins good money,» highlighting the importance of standards for reserves, redemption requirements and liquidity capital, In addition to the definition of the types of emitters and their regulation.
The Genius bill, presented in 2022 by senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand, seeks to establish a regulatory framework for Stablcoins in the United States with the aim of giving clarity to emitters and protecting consumers.
The lack of rules has expelled business
During the audience, Senator Bill Hagerty said that the lack of clear rules has stopped innovation, sent business abroad and weakened consumed protectionsr. Therefore, he insisted that «the United States can and should be a leader in Stablcoins» because they improve the efficiency of transactions, expand financial inclusion and reinforce the dollar as a global reserve currency.
The hearing chaired by Lummis, known for its favorable posture to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, was developed at a time when the United States is adjusting its approach to this emerging market, influenced by the Government of Donald Trump.
As cryptootics reported, the SEC decided to leave litigation against several companies in the cryptocurrency sector, such as Coinbase, Robinhood and Unisswap. In addition, from the federal government You have a position to promote the development of this sector and prevent regulations that stop innovation.
In general, the Senate audience served as a legislative appetite thermometer for regulating digital assets, showing A impulse towards clearer and favorable standards to the industry. Although with debates on how to balance consumer protection and global competitiveness in a sector that does not cease to evolve.