Cryptocurrencies
Crypto Chiefs Face Democrat Skeptics, GOP Supporters at House Hearing
- House hearing weighs testimony from digital assets industry
- Committee Chairwoman Waters says industry vulnerable to abuse
This article is for subscribers only.
Executives of major cryptocurrency firms stepped into the glare of congressional scrutiny for the first time on Wednesday, telling lawmakers the burgeoning industry needs federal oversight but resisting some of the hardline policies that regulators have advocated.
One flashpoint was whether digital tokens are securities that should be policed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Coinbase Global Inc. Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas said she disagrees with such an approach, arguing that decades-old rules designed for assets such as stocks aren’t appropriate for digital tokens.