• The US Congress is pushing for an investigation into the recent rulemaking of the SEC in the crypto space.
• SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is set to testify in April 18, 2021 before the US Congress to justify his recent actions.
• Recently, Representative Warren Davidson has tweeted to initiate a #FireGary movement calling it bipartisan.
US Congress Pushes for Investigation on SEC’s Crypto Regulation
The US Financial Services Committee is demanding an explanation from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on their action towards regulating cryptocurrencies. Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry has asked SEC Chair Gary Gensler to testify before the US Congress on April 18, 2021.
Operation Choke Point 2.0
Since November 2022 when crypto exchange FTX collapsed, there has been a growing concern about Operation Choke Point 2.0 taking shape in the crypto sphere. This was made more apparent by Wells Notice that was issued by SEC last week against Coinbase claiming certain digital assets listed on its platform violate securities laws of United States.
Digital Asset Subcommittee
Chairman Patrick McHenry established a Digital Asset Subcommittee within House Financial Services Committee this year in 2023 to bridge gap between handling of crypto related issues within committee. French Hill (Republican) chairs this subcommittee while Warren Davidson (Republican) serves as its deputy chairperson and both are well-known for their pro-crypto attitude who publically called out Gary Gensler through his tweet initiating #FireGary movement which he called bipartisan.
Patrick McHenry’s Oversight Plan
Chairman Patrick McHenry has taken oversight of SEC as one of his priorities during his chairmanship and believes that it will be necessary for Gary Gensler to explain recent actions taken by agency during his testimony before US Congress next month so as to balance regulation accordingly with growth of cryptocurrency industry without hampering innovation or use cases within it .
Conclusion
The upcoming hearing is expected to bring much needed clarity into how cryptocurrencies should be regulated in United States and whether current practices followed by Sec are sufficient enough or if new approaches need to be adopted instead and can serve as much awaited way out from grey area surrounding them currently .