U.S. Congress Goes Positive On Cryptocurrency In Latest Hearing
A congressional hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture yesterday went positive towards the impact that cryptocurrency and digital assets can have for the economy and processes.
The hearing included academics, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency industry. They included:
- Mr. Joshua Fairfield, William Donald Bain Family Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law, Staunton, VA
- Ms. Amber Baldet, Co-Founder and CEO, Clovyr, New York, NY
- Mr. Scott Kupor, Managing Partner, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Park, CA
- Mr. Daniel Gorfine, Director, LabCFTC and Chief Innovation Officer, CFTC, Washington, DC
- The Honorable Gary Gensler, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management, Brooklandville, MD
- Mr. Lowell Ness, Managing Partner, Perkins Coie LLP, Palo Alto, CA
The recent indictments of 12 Russia-linked hackers related to their alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. elections was brought up and Bitcoin was mentioned as the means the hackers used to fund their activities and whether this helped hide their identities.
However, committee members were informed that bitcoin’s public ledger allowed investigators to pinpoint the movement of funds much more easily than cash. The committee chairman, Michael Conaway, said, “As long as stupid criminals keep using bitcoin, that’d be great.”