Congressman Davidson to Finalize on Favorable ICO Regulations Bill

By Debarun Gupta

It is no secret that Republican Congressman Warren Davidson has been an ardent fan of Bitcoin and Blockchain technologies. According to new reports, he’s planning to introduce a federal bill that will regulate Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Cryptocurrencies.

The bill would create an “asset class” for tokens, which would prevent them from “being classified as securities, but would also allow the federal government to regulate initial coin offerings more effectively,” the report stated.

The Congressman confirmed about the bipartisan bill at a four-day Blockchain conference in Cleveland featuring Ehthereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.

Republicans have generally opposed regulation and government intervention as part of their ideologies, but in this case, they are the ones leading the pro-crypto movement in Washington, demanding more clarity on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plans to regulate cryptocurrencies. Although most of the support is from Republicans, Blockchain technology in the USA has seen support from the Democrats as well.

In September 2018, 12 Republicans and 2 Democrats sent a letter to the Chairman of SEC, Jay Clayton seeking answers on how the agency plans to tackle crypto regulations. Congressman Davidson, who’s also a member of the House Financial Services Committee was among the 14 signatories.

Republican Davidson had invited 32 cryptocurrency companies for a summit at Capitol Hill in August of this year, to discuss ICO regulations. At the summit, the Congressman stressed the importance of finding a subtle balance between regulation and suppression. He said,

“Tapping the potential ICO’s offer requires a law that provides a simple but clear ‘light-touch’ approach.” 

At the same time, the SEC has been hard at work, cracking down hard on illicit ICOs and crypto fraud schemes.

However, Washington has been buzzing with politicians talking about crypto.

In September 2018, Republican Congressman Tom Emmer introduced three bills that will support the development of crypto and Blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin.

The three bills are:

1. Resolution Supporting Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology.
2. Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
3. Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act.

Emmer is also the co-chairman of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and has been a key figure in introducing new ideas about crypto regulations in Congress.

“This is an exciting time for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies,” said Emmer. “Legislators should be embracing emerging technologies and providing a clear regulatory system that allows them to flourish in the United States.”

It is therefore without a doubt that at this critical juncture in the life of cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology in the USA, the crypto companies have the much-needed support of powerful voices inside the Congress, calling for a lawful and balanced regulation that would be of benefit to both the companies and the country alike.