US Congress plans ‘demystifying crypto’ committee hearing for Nov. 17

The Joint Economic Committee is composed of Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Senate. It will hold a hearing about the role of government in crypto.

The schedule of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) for next week shows that congressional members will listen to industry experts at a hearing entitled “Demystifying crypto: Digital assets and the role of government” on Nov. 17. The hearing will be presided over by Representative Don Beyer, who previously proposed legislation to expand the legal and regulatory framework for digital assets in America.

Open Markets Institute director of financial strategy Alexis Goldstein, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Tim Massad and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s Blockchain and Digital Asset Project directors Kevin Werbach and Peter Van Valkenburgh, Coin Center’s director of Research, are among the industry experts scheduled to speak. JEC members include Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Rob Portman, both of whom have previously spoken out in support of crypto regulation.

Related: House Committee reviews regulations and risks associated with cryptocurrency.

The majority of discussion about crypto regulation in the U.S. took place outside of full sessions of either the House or Senate. Instead, it was often restricted to meetings of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The issue was brought to the forefront of Congress’ attention in August when the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs debated the texting of the current infrastructure bill. It included tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency developers, transaction validators, and node operators.

With no additional clarification regarding crypto brokers, the bill passed both the House of Representatives as well as the Senate. It is now awaiting President Joe Biden’s approval. On Nov. 15, the U.S. President will sign the bill into law.