The hearing “The Future of Digital Assets: Measuring the Regulatory Gaps in the Digital Asset
Markets” brought together U.S. politicians and cryptocurrency industry leaders to discuss the
future of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.

Policymakers such as Dusty Johnson, Yadira Caraveo, French Hill, Stephen Lynch, Patrick
McHenry, and Maxine Waters underlined the need for robust and competitive crypto
regulations while advocating for greater collaboration between the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC).

Industry representatives including Andrew Dergey, Matthew Culkin, Marco Santori, Daniel
Schoenberger, Timothy Massad, and Michael Blaugrund testified about various aspects of the
crypto market, the need for clearer regulations, and the potential for U.S. competitiveness in
the global crypto market.

Key themes discussed included the need for:

• Increased collaboration between SEC and CFTC.
• The appropriate classification of certain cryptocurrencies as securities or commodities.
• The role of decentralised crypto projects.
• The comparison between traditional and crypto exchanges.

Matthew Culkin suggested that Bitcoin and Ethereum should be treated as commodities, while
Marco Santori emphasised the need for the U.S. to follow crypto-specific regulations being
implemented in the UK and EU. Timothy Massad proposed the formation of a self-regulatory
organisation for crypto exchanges, while Michael Blaugrund asserted that crypto exchanges
should follow the same rules as traditional centralised exchanges.

Several politicians asked specific questions about decentralisation, Know Your Customer
(KYC) requirements, the feasibility of a self-regulatory organisation, and the status of specific
cryptocurrencies. Notably, Bill Foster argued for the connection of crypto wallets to
government-issued digital IDs, and Nikki Budzinski emphasised the need to make crypto
conversations more relatable to average people.

Despite some anti-crypto sentiments from politicians like Al Green and Brad Sherman, there
was a general recognition of the potential influence of a pro-crypto stance on political futures.
The future of U.S. crypto regulation may be shaped by upcoming crypto-specific regulations
in jurisdictions like the EU and UK, and the balance of power in the crypto sector could shift
significantly depending on the enforcement of new rules in pro-crypto jurisdictions like Hong
Kong.

The next few months are considered crucial for the U.S. crypto market and its regulations,
with the potential for a significant crypto bull run if the U.S. successfully replicates pro-crypto
regulations seen overseas.