Crypto rules impossible ‘without an act of Congress’: Blockchain Association
- CLO from the Blockchain Association called on the US Congress to oversee crypto regulations.
- Lack of regulations causes regulators to exceed their authority.
The pro-crypto trade group Blockchain Association has addressed the recent crackdown on crypto firms by several US regulators. Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer of the Blockchain Association, took to Twitter on February 14th to share his thoughts on the growing enforcement actions against the digital asset industry.
1/ After a series of hostile moves by US regulators, with rumors of more to come, fears of a crypto crackdown have never been higher.
It can be tough, but we can map a way through it.
Let’s discuss the state of cryptopolitics: what’s happening, why and what we’re doing next 🧵
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) 14 February 2023
Are federal regulators overstepping their authority?
In particular, the recent string of hostile moves by regulators in the country has sent fears of a crypto crash to an all-time high. He acknowledged that the string of bankruptcies and collapses in 2022 made it the worst year from a political perspective.
The fallout from these collapses has prompted concerned regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to step up their efforts to regulate the industry and enforce their policies to the best of their ability.
However, these regulators are bound by the “legal reality” of not having the authority to regulate crypto. The Blockchain Association’s leader added:
“None of them can get it through any kind of enforcement, and neither of them will ever get it without an act of Congress.”
Divided Congress encourages crypto enforcement
Chervinsky revealed that government agencies have stated that crypto regulation by the US Congress, not the agencies. However, the current structure of Congress, which is divided literally and ideologically by House Republicans and Senate Democrats, makes an agreement on crypto legislation seem unlikely.
This has given the regulators the opportunity to expand their authority and exceed their jurisdiction to expand their oversight of the crypto industry. In addition, the race for greater oversight likely triggered the sudden backlog of enforcement actions by these agencies.
To that end, the Blockchain Association’s CPO laid out several steps where they could enforce actions. This included participating in the public process, initiating legal action against agencies that exceeded their authority, educating members of Congress, and participating in litigation where necessary.
