A bipartisan group of Congress members sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting information about its cryptocurrency probes to ensure that innovation isn’t suppressed due to overreaching requests for information.
“Crypto startups must not be weighed down by extra-jurisdictional and burdensome reporting requirements. The SEC must ensure that its information-seeking requests to private crypto and blockchain firms are not overburdensome, unnecessary, and do not stifle innovation,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a press release.
The effort was led by Emmer with participation by Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).
All letter signers are members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus with the exception of Donalds. They asked the SEC to respond no later than April 29.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler is asked in the letter to provide details regarding how often it sends voluntary document requests to cryptocurrency and blockchain companies. The SEC has the jurisdiction to request information providing the demands aren’t at odds with the Paperwork Reduction Act, which restricts how much inconvenience the federal government can inflict on private companies.
“It appears there has been a recent trend towards employing the Enforcement Division’s investigative functions to gather information from unregulated cryptocurrency and blockchain industry participants in a manner inconsistent with the Commission’s standards for initiating investigations,” the letter said.
The letter lists 13 questions it wants the SEC to answer about the types of document requests made, the number of questions asked, how much time companies had to respond, expected compliance costs, collection method and other queries.
Read more: Biden’s Executive Order Set to Fast-Track Crypto Policy
An executive order by President Joe Biden calls for establishing a single, governmentwide policy on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The executive order will have six areas of focus — consumer and investor protection; protecting financial stability; preventing illicit finance; advancing U.S. leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness; promoting financial inclusion, and encouraging responsible innovation.
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