In the United States, hearings are due to take place this week, according to the results of which local legislators will decide on the future of stablecoins.
The House Committee on Financial Services will meet next Wednesday, April 19, to hold a hearing on this issue. The potential consequences of the adoption of the draft law on the introduction of a moratorium on digital currency will be considered.
The text of the bill, which will be considered on Wednesday, says about the establishment of a ban on the release and creation of a stablecoin with endogenous collateral for two years. At the same time, the validity period of this ban may be extended, since the authors of the legislative initiative declare that the moratorium on the new generation currency should be in force until the government conducts all the necessary research on this topic. The bill also provides for a detailed study of the impact on the financial system of the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Federal Reserve System.
Patrick McHenry, who currently chairs the Financial Services Committee, last year announced his desire to focus on studying the use of stablecoins in the event that Republicans regain the House of Representatives. He stated that legislative regulation in this area is a complex process. Patrick McHenry also noted that compromises in legislation rarely create something beautiful, but they must necessarily have an effective practical value.
The head of the committee said last year that the United States needed stablecoins and noted that USDT and USDC have an advantage over bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are characterized by a high level of volatility and lack of stability. At the same time, he reported on the lack of a regulatory framework and understanding of assets acting as support.
The proposed moratorium corresponds to the legislative initiative announced last year by former Senator J. Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, who proposed a ban on algorithmic stablecoins.
The witnesses at the April 19 hearing will be Dante Disparte, director of the strategy at Circle Internet Financial, which produces the USDC, and Austin Campbell, a business professor at Columbia University. Also taking part will be Adrienne Harris, Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, and Jake Czerwinski, head of the Blockchain Association’s policy department.
As we have reported earlier, Bank for International Settlements to Step Up Work on Monitoring of Stablecoins.