Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) has introduced new legislation to regulate digital assets and protect consumers.
- In an announcement Wednesday, Beyer said, “digital assets and blockchain technology hold great promise, and it is clear that assets like Bitcoin and Ether are here to stay.”
- Beyer introduced the “Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act,” which will add digital assets into the existing financial regulatory structures.
- Beyer stressed that the existing digital asset market structure and regulatory framework are too “ambiguous and dangerous for investors and consumers,” adding that the “laws are behind the times” and need to be updated.
- The new legislation would provide regulatory certainty by defining digital assets vs. digital asset securities and giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority over digital asset securities and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) authority over digital assets.
- It would also give the Federal Reserve exclusive authority to issue a digital version of the U.S. Dollar, and strengthen the Bank Secrecy Act requirements related to the treatment of digital assets.
- It is estimated there are over 11,000 separate digital asset tokens in existence, with a market cap of over $1.5 trillion, and that 20-46 million Americans currently own bitcoin and other digital assets.
Source: Coindesk
