Leading crypto trade association flags certain DCCPA provisions that would cause more harm than good as currently written
Washington, D.C. (Sept. 15, 2022) – On Thursday, Sept. 15, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), which would grant the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the ability to regulate crypto spot markets. Blockchain Association welcomes this initiative by the committee to grant the CFTC regulatory authority over crypto, however, the association urges the committee to make key revisions to language within the bill that is either too narrow or unclear and would unintentionally harm the crypto ecosystem.
The following statement is attributed to Jake Chervinksky, Head of Policy at Blockchain Association:
“We appreciate the bipartisan effort by Senators Stabenow, Boozman, Booker, and Thune to open a dialogue and advance discussion on how best to regulate crypto. Before advancing this promising legislation, the Senate Agriculture Committee should resolve several key issues.
Here are five problems with the current draft we look forward to working with the Senate Agriculture Committee members to resolve:
- The bill’s “digital commodity” definition is too narrow and vague and must be clarified to draw a clear dividing line between the CFTC and SEC.
- The bill could be interpreted as a ban on decentralized finance (DeFi) – an unintended result of applying the same rules to centralized intermediaries and decentralized protocols.
- The “digital commodity platform” definitions are too broad, imposing onerous requirements on some firms that aren’t justified by the minimal degree of risk they pose.
- The bill gives the CFTC excessively broad extraterritorial jurisdiction, allowing it to regulate transactions that take place entirely outside the United States.
- The bill threatens financial privacy by requiring all “digital commodity platforms” to conduct warrantless surveillance under the Bank Secrecy Act.
We look forward to working with these offices and the broader committee to sharpen and expand existing language within the DCCPA, ensuring that the outcome aligns with the spirit of the legislation to support the growth of American crypto innovation.”
About Blockchain Association: Blockchain Association is the unified voice of the cryptocurrency industry. Our members include the sector’s leading investors, companies, projects, and protocols, working together to support a future-forward, pro-innovation national policy and regulatory framework for the crypto economy. Find us at theblockchainassociation.org. Follow us @BlockchainAssn.
