U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., on Wednesday (July 27) criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its approach to cryptocurrency, which he said has harmed both financial innovation and American consumers.
“In recent weeks, several companies whose crypto lending services were arguably within the SEC’s purview have collapsed,” Toomey wrote to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, as quoted in a release from the Senate Banking Committee.
Learn more: Gensler: SEC Wants to Register Crypto Lenders
“These firms often promised enormous, seemingly unsustainable interest rates to depositors, and at least one business allegedly engaged in risky practices,” he added, citing the example of Celsius, which had $12 billion in assets under management, money which is now frozen.
Toomey argued that if the SEC had listened to calls for guidance on how to apply securities laws to digital assets, companies could have responded accordingly and prevented losses. Instead, he wrote, the commission has chosen to “regulate by enforcement, selectively deciding to apply its opaque position on when digital assets and services are securities.”
Meanwhile, Coindesk reported that Toomey is talking to Democrats to get bipartisan support on a bill that would provide stablecoin oversight.
His legislation would require full disclosure of the reserves that back stablecoins, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regulating stablecoin issuers.
“The first place where we should be able to find common ground, and I actually think in many cases are close, is to chart a path forward for clear and sensible regulations on stablecoins,” Toomey said at a Thursday committee hearing.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who chairs the banking committee, told Coindesk he had spoken to Toomey about the bill but said he and his colleague have “a different view generally” over the intensity of regulation required for stablecoins. But, he added that “we want to get to that. We want the regulators to go as far as they can go.”
See also: Report: House Stablecoin Bill Put on Hold
This news comes days after reports that House lawmakers have put their own stablecoin regulation bill on hold, likely for the remainder of the summer.
Passing the bill would have represented a big first step in cracking down the cryptocurrency industry, sparked by concerns that current laws don’t include proper standards for digital assets. The Biden administration and the legislators who support the bill have warned of potential risks posed by stablecoins.
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