加密货币政策需要扶持建设者而非投机者 - Project Syndicate
监管机构往往缺乏调整现有规则以适应新技术的动力，而在位者往往让他们有理由去维护现状。在加密货币领域，对犯罪行为的问责来得太晚或根本没有问责 ...
拒绝
民主党提名人、副总统卡马拉·哈里斯（Kamala Harris）在很大程度上对这一话题保持沉默，但现在她也有机会为金融创新提供一种更周到、更进步的做法。与人工智能政策一样，加密货币政策从根本上讲都是与创新和国家竞争力有关。为了使美国成为这一战略领域的领导者，下届政府必须首先更换目前由证券交易委员会主席加里·根斯勒（Gary Gensler）领导的充满敌意的金融监管机构团队——根斯勒本人一直都 <anchor>拒绝</anchor> 与该行业进行有意义的对话。
Gary Gensler’s crypto warning for Congress - POLITICO
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# Gary Gensler’s crypto warning for Congress

05/22/2024 08:00 AM EDT

Presented by Citi

Editor’s note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro .

## QUICK FIX

The House today is set to rebuke the SEC for its cryptocurrency crackdown and pass legislation that would limit the agency’s ability to police the industry. But, in a twist, the SEC may be about to hand the digital asset world a big victory.

Before we get to that, MM has some related, must-read news that’s breaking this morning.

In a rare instance of a federal regulator calling out Congress, SEC Chair Gary Gensler says the sweeping crypto legislation that the House will likely pass this afternoon “would create new regulatory gaps and undermine decades of precedent regarding the oversight of investment contracts, putting investors and capital markets at immeasurable risk.” The bill, which is led by Republicans and has support from some Democrats, would restrict the SEC’s authority over crypto and expand the powers of its sister agency, the CFTC.

“The crypto industry’s record of failures, frauds and bankruptcies is not because we do not have rules or because the rules are unclear,” Gensler says in a nearly four-page warning about the bill. “It’s because many players in the crypto industry don’t play by the rules.”

Gensler’s unwavering concern about crypto risks and the House’s pending slapdown are why MM wants to point your attention to a potentially surprising digital asset decision coming from the agency soon.

The SEC is weighing whether to approve exchange-traded investment funds that track ether, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency behind bitcoin. The industry had been betting against such a move ahead of this week with a key deadline looming, but the SEC is unexpectedly sending signals that it might play ball.

If the agency’s commissioners approve the ether ETF applications, it would mark another major expansion of investor access to crypto following the decision earlier this year to permit bitcoin ETFs. The bitcoin move has been a gift for the crypto world and also traditional financial giants, which are trying to embrace the digital asset boom. BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF has $19.2 billion in assets under management after launching in January.

Approval of ether ETFs would go against the overarching narrative around the SEC. Under Gensler, the agency has emerged as the crypto world’s top Washington foe because of its position that many digital assets pose risks to investors and should be regulated as securities. It’s why the House is trying to rein in the SEC.

“The agencies need to see that Congress is acting,” House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry said in an interview ahead of today’s vote on the crypto bill he spearheaded. “They need to have a smarter view of this and a view inclined toward innovation. An Ethereum ETF would be smart, safe innovation in my view.” (You can check out the full crypto-focused Q&A with McHenry on POLITICO Pro, and keep reading below for more on today’s House crypto votes.)

The crypto market had been bracing for disappointment from the SEC for weeks. One industry representative told MM that the agency had been “radio silent” before Monday, while an executive at another firm proposing an ether ETF said there seemed to be no chance of approval, until now.

“[An approval] would just be out of touch with every other step that the commission has taken toward the crypto industry,” said Coy Garrison, a former counsel to Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and a partner at the law firm Steptoe.

The mood shifted Monday when the SEC quietly opened up discussions with firms looking to offer the ether ETFs. The companies pushing for approval include VanEck, BlackRock and Fidelity.

“Exchanges typically don’t tweak filings if they aren’t getting some suggestions from agency staff that the effort will be rewarded,” said Tyler Gellasch, a former SEC attorney who now leads the Healthy Markets Association, an investor advocacy group. “The process for these filings is starting to look eerily similar to the bitcoin [exchange-traded product] process.”

A message from Citi:

How will digital currencies shape the future of finance? As blockchain technology advances, digital currencies are poised to disrupt traditional banking models and could redefine the global monetary landscape. Central banks are working across global stakeholders to help determine what future adoption might look like – presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Explore in-depth analysis from Citi on the potential implications in the Citi GPS Report, Money, Tokens, and Games.

Gensler himself hinted earlier this year that the crypto world shouldn’t get its hopes up. So why might the SEC usher in another crypto sea change? Gellasch and other SEC watchers speculate that the agency may have forced its own hand when approving the bitcoin funds, a decision that was provoked in part by a crypto firm’s lawsuit.

“That choice made it challenging for the SEC to justify drawing a line in the sand now,” Gellasch said.

The SEC may still block the products, and the approval process could be further drawn out. The agency would have to sign off on proposals from the exchanges to list the products and separately give the issuers the go-ahead.

Some of Gensler’s biggest allies are spending the week fighting the crypto legislation on the House floor today. An unexpected SEC blessing of ethereum funds could provoke a backlash from some in the watchdog community.

“Anything that is going to further expose investors to the crypto market without sufficient investor protections is highly problematic,” said Benjamin Schiffrin, a former SEC attorney now with the crypto-skeptical Better Markets. “The further crypto is entangled with the traditional financial system, the greater the risk that all the problems in the crypto marketplace are going to spill over.”

“Today’s announcement reflects President Trump’s commitment to an agenda that values freedom over socialistic government control,” the Trump campaign said.

It’s Wednesday— And we have major fin reg legislation on the House floor. Stay tuned to POLITICO and POLITICO Pro. Send tips to [email protected]. Keep up with Declan at [email protected] and @declanharty.

## Driving the day

NAR releases existing home sales data for April at 10 a.m. … House Small Business holds a hearing on regulatory burdens at 10 a.m. … House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry speaks at the Investment Company Institute’s leadership summit at 10:10 a.m. … Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius and Bank Policy Institute chief economist Bill Nelson discuss the Fed and financial stability at the American Enterprise Institute at 1 p.m. … The Fed releases FOMC meeting minutes at 2 p.m.

No, thank you — At least one of the candidates to replace FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg tells Victoria Guida that he’s not looking for the nomination. Graham Steele, a former aide to Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown who stepped down as assistant Treasury secretary earlier this year, said, “I am very happy living back in private life, and I am not interested in the position.”

A White House official told Reuters that the agency needs a “fresh start.”

First in MM: Scott aide heads downtown— John Partin, who serves on the staff of Senate Banking ranking member Tim Scott, is joining the Bank Policy Institute as vice president of government affairs. He starts June 3.

The Fed’s next move— Per CNBC, Fed Governor Christopher Waller says he doesn’t think further rate hikes will be necessary but he needs to see “several more months of good inflation data” before easing borrowing costs.

Bank execs wanted on the Hill — Michael Stratford reports that the chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Richard Blumenthal, wants representatives of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo to testify about fraud concerns with their payment service Zelle. Blumenthal held a hearing on the issue Tuesday.

According to the subcommittee, Zelle customers from the three banks submitted claims with losses totaling more than $456 million in 2022. About three-quarters, or $341 million, wasn’t reimbursed by the lenders.

## Crypto

A message from Citi:

A huge day on the Hill – The House is primed to make history this afternoon when it passes a big revamp of how the U.S. regulates crypto — the first time Congress has taken such a step. The bill would put new restrictions on how the SEC regulates the space and give the CFTC authority to play a bigger role. Lawmakers late Tuesday agreed to consider a few amendments, which you can read about here on Pro.

Eleanor Mueller reports that Democrats are split over whether to pass the Republican-led legislation. House Democratic leadership isn’t urging members to vote against it, despite an attempt by House Financial Services ranking member Maxine Waters to rally opposition.

Eight Democrats, including Reps. Jim Himes, Josh Gottheimer and Ritchie Torres circulated a memo urging members to support the bill.

“The promise of blockchains and digital assets is exciting, but the development of these networks is hamstrung by a lack of regulatory clarity that hurts responsible actors trying to innovate while rewarding bad actors who seek to defraud the public,” the supportive Democrats wrote.

The bill isn’t expected to get any pickup in the Senate, but it will be on the shelf for a future Congress. Financial services legislation has a history of taking multiple sessions to gestate.

“This is the whole menu of options,” McHenry told reporters Tuesday.

Democrats are facing pressure from allies outside Congress to oppose the bill. A coalition including the AFL-CIO, Center for American Progress and Americans for Financial Reform told lawmakers in a letter that the legislation as written “introduces a policy ‘cure’ that would be far worse than the disease.”

As for the Biden administration? “It’s been crickets,” McHenry said.

## Housing

The latest mortgage battle — Katy O’Donnell reports that Republican lawmakers are gearing up to fight a plan by Freddie Mac to start buying second mortgages. Former FHFA Director Mark Calabria, the top mortgage regulator under Trump, calls it a risky “election-year gimmick.”

## Artificial Intelligence

AI collateral — The WSJ reports that Wall Street lenders are using high-demand computer chips used in AI development as assets to backstop costly loans to the industry. At least three deals have closed since last year, and more appear to be in the pipeline.

A message from Citi:

How will digital currencies shape the future of finance?

As blockchain technology advances, digital currencies are poised to disrupt traditional banking models and could redefine the global monetary landscape – presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses.

Blockchain-based products can make a significant impact in terms of wide consumer adoption in digital currency, especially central bank digital currency (CBDCs), gaming, and social. Momentum on adoption has positively shifted as governments, large institutions, and corporations have moved from investigating the benefits of tokenization to trials and proofs of concept.

Explore in-depth analysis from Citi on the potential implications in the Citi GPS Report, Money, Tokens, and Games.

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## About The Author : Declan Harty

Declan Harty is a capital markets reporter for POLITICO, covering the SEC, CFTC and the agencies’ interactions with Wall Street and Capitol Hill.

Prior to POLITICO, Declan reported on the financial industry, cryptocurrencies and regulation for Fortune and S&P Global Market Intelligence. He also, at one point, spent time working on the open outcry trading floors of Chicago.

He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. He now lives outside of Chicago with his wife, two kids and dog.

## About The Author : Zachary Warmbrodt

Zachary Warmbrodt Zach Warmbrodt is POLITICO's financial services editor and co-author of the Morning Money newsletter. He has covered finance and the economy for POLITICO since 2012. His reporting focuses on Washington's relationship with Wall Street and the broader finance industry, including banks, insurers, asset managers and cryptocurrency. Zach is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

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