A congressional hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture today struck a positive tone towards the impact that cryptocurrency and digital assets can have for the economy and processes.
The hearing included academics, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency industry. They included:
• Mr. Joshua Fairfield, William Donald Bain Family Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law, Staunton, VA
• Ms. Amber Baldet, Co-Founder and CEO, Clovyr, New York, NY
• Mr. Scott Kupor, Managing Partner, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Park, CA
• Mr. Daniel Gorfine, Director, LabCFTC and Chief Innovation Officer, CFTC, Washington, DC
• The Honorable Gary Gensler, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management, Brooklandville, MD
• Mr. Lowell Ness, Managing Partner, Perkins Coie LLP, Palo Alto, CA
Bitcoin’s Role in Alleged Russian Hacking of DNC Emails
The recent indictments of 12 Russia-linked hackers related to their alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. elections was brought up. Bitcoin was mentioned as the means the hackers used to fund their activities and whether this helped hide their indentities.
However, committee members were informed that bitcoin’s public ledger allowed investigators to pinpoint the movement of funds much more easily than cash. The committee chairman, Michael Conaway, said, “As long as stupid criminals keep using bitcoin, that’d be great.”
Hearing More Technical and Detailed than Previous Ones
With the numerous subject matter experts on the panel, the discussion went into much more detail than others, like the ones at the SEC.
Amber Baldet made a good case for current blockchain technology as an early open framework built on open-source technology, much like the infrastructure of the Internet. In its early state currently, blockchain technology has the potential to grow into new, foundational technologies like the SMTP email protocol. Baldet thus recommended a sensible and moderate regulation.
Baldet said, “the committee can take a more proactive approach to regulation” as a means to support a blockchain becoming a global infrastructure, as the United States did with the internet. This is in contrast to “reactionary” regulations.
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https://www.ccn.com/u-s-congress-strikes-positive-tone-on-cryptocurrency-in-latest-hearing/
