On April 27, both the Financial Services Committee and the Agriculture Committee of the United States House of Representatives held simultaneous hearings on digital assets. The titles of both hearings were nearly identical, and the discussions covered similar ground, leading to many shared conclusions. One of the issues addressed was the regulatory gaps in digital asset market structure. The hearing on financial services heard from Zachary Zweihorn, a partner at Davis Polk, who argued that securities market structure laws and regulations do not align with digital asset securities. Hilary Allen, an American University law professor, disagreed, saying that blockchain-based technology businesses could comply with existing regulations. Daniel Gorfine, founder and CEO of Gattaca Horizons, called for a focus on real-world applications that improve lives.
The hearing on agriculture addressed regulatory gaps in spot market regulation. Witnesses pointed out shortcomings in the current SEC regulatory framework and suggested that the SEC and CFTC should jointly write a set of principles for traders who use Bitcoin or Ether but are not currently regulated. The joint committee hearing will take place next month.
