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United States Congressmen Warren Davidson and Mike Flood have written a letter to the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) demanding an explanation for a chapter the agency prepared for the “Economic Report of the President” that expressed \u201ca hostile view towards the digital asset ecosystem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report, presented to Congress in March, contained a chapter titled \u201cThe Reality of Crypto Assets\u201d that claimed such assets \u201chave brought none of the promised benefits.\u201d The agency\u2019s opinion marked a reversal of the position taken in the president\u2019s \u201cExecutive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,\u201d the lawmakers claimed. They wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working to do our part in Congress to put forth a regulatory regime for digital assets that will allow this innovative ecosystem to thrive in the U.S. while enacting critical protections.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cBy taking such a hostile view towards the digital asset ecosystem, the Administration is only pushing digital asset innovation offshore,\u201d they wrote. This posture, they added, will start \u201cdrawing capital and economic growth away from the U.S. to the benefit of other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter raised questions, many of which immediately sprang to the minds of crypto supporters who objected to the claims made in the report. The writers asked how firms can comply with the law \u201cwhen the laws that allegedly apply are conflicting, for example when a product is considered both a security and a commodity.\u201d <\/p>\n Related: \u2018Keep Your Coins\u2019 bill introduced to restrict government control of crypto<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n They further asked why the agency dismissed the role of Congress by saying much of the activity in the crypto space is covered by existing regulations. They wrote, \u201cIs it the CEA’s view that legislation from Congress will not mitigate potential risks and provide consumers with more protections than exist today?\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, the lawmakers demanded to know why the agency, which is part of the Executive Office of the President, claimed that the soon-to-launch FedNow instant payment system and central bank digital currency would be simpler and more effective than digital assets in upgrading the financial system. <\/p>\n There is simply no way the digital assets ecosystem within the United States will survive without some kind of action from Congress to combat the regulatory deluge we\u2019ve seen in the past few months.<\/p>\n Watch my full comments pic.twitter.com\/CscbpkorcO<\/a><\/p>\n\n