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Individual US states appear to be competing for the most crypto-friendly headline in the Union – the recent announcement of Ohio of forthcoming cryptocurrency payments is the latest example. Meanwhile, federal authorities remain untidy about how to define, not to mention constantly regulating digital resources.
It is not just the interested parties and envoys of encryption that complain about the disordered state of federal policies: their usual speeches have recently been validated by academics. In an article published in a Journal of Financial Transformation, Carol Goforth of the University of Arkansas Law School delivered a judgment that essentially sums up what the experts have transmitted forever. Goforth notes that there are at least four distinct federal regulators overseeing various aspects of digital goods issuance, each with a different interpretation of their nature.
While the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) treats cryptocurrencies as commodities, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) insists that they are securities, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Treasury Department (FinCEN) applies the currency rules and the Internal Revenue Service treats digital money as a property.
Skeptical about the possibility that these regulatory powers will be consolidated soon, prof. Goforth calls for more coordination between the agencies in an attempt to introduce a more nuanced rather than "monolithic" approach to the various cryptographic resources. In other words, its proposed remedy consists in treating these goods on a case-by-case basis, based on their functionality and users' motivations. But have there been signs of such a change of heart in regulators and US policymakers in recent times?
At least in one case, yes. On December 11, CFTC issued a public input request, seeking in-depth comments on multiple aspects of how Ether and Ethereum Network operate. The document, which will generate feedback to feed the work of the Commission's LabCFTC initiative, includes a list of 25 articles pertaining to the purpose, functionality, scalability, security and even details of the instant passing of the system to the test consent of the stake. mechanism.
While the news has stirred up the community, it is not immediately clear what will come out of the renewed interest of the regulator for the foundations of Ethereum. Some observers, such as Mike Orcutt of MIT Technology Review, have suggested that development could endanger the prospects of the long-awaited ETH future.
What appears to be the CFTC's effort to rethink the status of a single resource may not be indicative of a broader concerted drive towards "a more nuanced approach". Other US regulators have not made similar steps, while some signals indicate that they are still very much in line with the good old general approach. For example, in consonance with their usual trope, recent observations by a Treasury Department official stressed the need for crypto-industry operators to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) and infrastructure of terrorist financing (CFT).
United States Congress
There is always hope that the legislators at Capitol Hill will lead the charge towards a better regulatory framework. In fact, in recent weeks, members of Congress with the blockchain mentality have been on the move, making waves in the media and announcing the bills.
On December 6th, US representatives Darren Soto and Ted Budd presented two bills to prevent price manipulation and the optimization of the regulatory framework: the 2018 virtual currency consumer protection law and the law on the virtual currency market and on the regulation of 2018, respectively.
Both include recommendations to the CFTC that prescribe a set of regulatory changes. The first draft law outlines possible price manipulation scenarios in cryptographic markets and remedies, while the second requires a comparative study of regulatory agreements in other national contexts, in order to improve the current and burdensome internal regulations that could inhibit # 39; innovation. & # 39;
The last few weeks have also seen the rise of a new star in the crypto legislation, at least in terms of advertising generated. Even though he was not a formal member of Congress's Blockchain Caucus, Ohio's Warren Davidson representative was in the spotlight at least twice in December so far. First, speaking at the Blockland Solutions conference in Cleveland, Davidson announced that he was planning to introduce a bipartisan law that would create a new token asset class, allowing the federal government to settle the initial coin offerings (ICOs) in more efficient way.
A week later, during an interview with the NPR, Davidson said that the US-Mexico border wall could be crowdfunded, suggesting that one of the mechanisms could be blockchain and emission. of "wall coins".
L & # 39; Executive
While lawmakers and financial regulators are taking time to figure out how to better manage the realm of digital assets, many federal agencies that do not deal with monetary issues are exploring the uses of blockchain technology to facilitate their day-to-day operations.
With growing interest in supply chain logistics as one of the most controversial non-financial blockchain applications, the news has emerged that the feds are watching DLT-based sourcing tools to increase food security.
Between the outbreak of E. coli associated with Roman lettuce from a Californian farm that took some time and the authorities introduced a general warning, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken steps to improve its monitoring tools. The agency has hired Frank Yiannas, former head of food security at Walmart, as vice commissioner for food and veterinary products. Just a few months ago, Yiannas oversaw early testing of Walmart's blockchain-based localization system, and is now expected to introduce a similar solution with the FDA.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became interested in two blockchain applications relevant to the purpose of its activities. One is related to the transaction forensic analysis: apparently concerned with the potential of "private currencies" such as Monero and Zcash to help criminals escape the same level of control already available for bitcoin transactions, DHS has started the process of pre-solicitation for parties potentially interested in providing solutions capable of handling these "new blockchain implementations".
Another aspect of the agency's interest is relevant to the licensing and certification functions of its three subsidiaries: US Customs and Customs Protection (CBP), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) ) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In an effort to improve the flow of documentation, DHS asks startups to offer blockchain-based solutions that will help combat fraud, counterfeiting and forgery of digital documents.
In the field of defense, the US Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) presented an app designed to train members of the armed forces to develop and manage supply chain solutions based on blockchain. Recognizing that these supply chains will most likely be prevalent in future military logistics, Air Force has collaborated with several private contractors to build a system that prepares staff for their new functionality. Among the decisions they will learn to make is which incentive structure best fits a given task, or whether a system should be without permits or authorized.
Meanwhile, the US Armed Forces research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is trying to explore the potential uses of distributed registers without authorization. In preparation for a seminar scheduled for February 2019, the agency solicits information on a range of blockchain topics, including the security and centrality of distributed consent protocols.
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