US Congress to Discuss ICOs in Hearing Next Week

Following is the list of witnesses and memorandum which is published by the House Financial Services Committee for next week’s cryptocurrencies and ICO hearing. The names of the witnesses set to appear are:

• Chris Brummer – Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Mike Lempres – Chief Legal and Risk Officer, Coinbase.
• Robert Rosenblum – Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
• Peter Van Valkenburgh – Director of Research, Coin Center.

Here is the statement of the committee before the hearing, which will be hosted by the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Investment, and Securities:

“The subcommittee will perform an overview of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and cryptocurrency markets. These markets have been developing quickly attracting great attention from start-up enterprises and investors in search of capital. The hearing will inspect potential capital formation and economic efficiencies opportunities that ICOs and cryptocurrencies provide to investors and businesses, and review the devotion to applicable laws in ensuring that investors get full security afforded by the federal securities laws. Besides, the hearing will put into consideration the present regulatory method that regulators, for instance, and Exchange Commission, are applying to oversee and monitor cryptocurrencies and ICOs including how to accomplish more regulatory transparency in these markets.”

Tom Emmer, DC Blockchain Summit, U.S. Representative who is also part of the subcommittee while addressing CoinDesk during the week, proposed that the hearing would highly be educational, focused at offering members with more information concerning the cryptocurrency market and token sales. He also added that amongst the Financial Services Committee members, there is an increasing interest in studying more regarding the subject and impacts of technology use in various areas such as remittances.

Next week’s hearing represents the biggest Congressional foray into globe of digital currency, coming merely a month after hosting of big hearing by the Senate Committee on Banking – Housing and Urban Affairs on topics that involved testimony from Jay Clayton [Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman], and J. Christopher Giancarlo [Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman]. During the hearing, the two remarkably signified that their respective agencies might ultimately seek more oversight control over the market.