French Hill: We want to make sure that America is the place for blockchain innovation
U.S. Representative French Hill, who is in charge of the newly formed Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, has promised to make the United States the place where fintech and blockchain innovations happen. Hill said in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box that the subcommittee’s main goal will be to push for better crypto regulations.
“We want to make sure that America is the place for innovation in fintech, and blockchain is part of that future,” Hill said.
Hill said that Bitcoin is not yet ready for real-time payments, but he also said that the subcommittee will look into the possibility of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has turned down requests for a bitcoin ETF in the past. This includes a request from Grayscale, the largest crypto asset manager in the world.
“We want to make sure that America is the place for innovation in fintech, and blockchain is part of that future,”
French Hill
In addition to the Bitcoin ETF, the subcommittee will focus on other issues related to crypto regulation, such as the federal privacy law, a stablecoin bill, and the effects on the securities market. Hill also said that crypto trading and exchanges will need to be regulated, but he didn’t say which government agency will do this.
When asked about the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation, Hill said that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will be invited to Congress to discuss his knowledge and recommendations in this area. Hill’s comments come at a time when senators who support cryptocurrencies have criticized the SEC for its regulations that focus on enforcement and its extrajudicial sweeps of the cryptocurrency industry.