- The US Congress intends to negotiate the regulation of the stablecoin with interested parties in the field of cryptocurrencies.
- The meeting convened a fact-finding mission to determine the next step in stablecoin regulation.
The US Congress (Senate Banking Committee) is going to meet on Tuesday, December 14 to discuss stablecoins. This is because the rules around stablecoins continue to get tougher.
Meeting on the topic “Stablecoins: how do they work, how are they used and what are their risks?”will see executives from six crypto companies testify before a committee about the promise, dangers, and use of stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies that are pegged to the value of stable assets like the dollar.
Brian Brooks, former Acting Comptroller of the Currency under President Donald J. Trump and now CEO of blockchain technology company Bitfury Group; Sam Bankman-Fried, head of the FTX crypto exchange; Alecia Haas, Brian Armstrong, head of the Coinbase exchange in the USA; and Jeremy Aller, head of payments company Circle, are among those who will also testify before the committee.
The goal of the US Congress on stablecoin
The meeting, convened by Maxine Waters of California, the committee’s Democratic chair, is part of a crypto “fact-finding mission”that will help attendees determine what steps to take next on stablecoins and other cryptocurrency-related issues, committee aide Raz told The New York ..
He declined to provide a timetable for possible legislative action, but acknowledged that they may be inevitable given the concerns and urgency expressed by financial regulators.
Policy on stablecoin rules in the US continues to intensify
This hearing by members of the US Congress could put an end to the ongoing debate around stablecoins, as there is a longstanding argument in the US about the risky nature of stablecoins. Last month, the US Treasury Department released a report on the risks associated with stablecoins, stating that they threaten consumer protection and economic stability.
In early November, the Treasury Department also scrutinized stablecoins, recommending that they be subject to “appropriate federal oversight.”The presidential task force also recently released a report on stablecoins, urging lawmakers to limit their issuance to banks.
The supply of stablecoins has increased recently as more and more Tether and the like are being minted. According to CoinGecko, the stablecoin’s market capitalization is at an all-time high of $160 billion. Tether accounts for nearly half, or 48%, of a record $77 billion in circulation.