Representatives of the crypto community shared their reactions to the proposed Digital Products Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) on September 15. Speaking at a second hearing panel held by the Senate Agriculture Committee, guest speakers generally praised the bill, but it had. Tips for improvement.
Definitions were an issue for the five speakers and Jake Chervinsky, head of policy for the Blockchain Association. Released A statement on the bill at the moment the hearing is over. All commenters expressed interest in a clear definition of goods and commodities.
Coinbase Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Christine Parker said, “While the bill is designed for security, it doesn’t clearly define what is or isn’t secure (by the Howey test or otherwise).”
Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, said:
“The bill leaves it up to the agencies and the courts to decide whether digital assets, other than Bitcoin and Ether, are safe or not. So far, this approach has not yielded good results with significant implications for consumers.
According to Todd Phillips, director of financial regulation and corporate governance at the Center for American Progress, the bill’s definition of commodities ignores the role of mining and stakeholders.
Warren also said: “The bill limits brokers, dealers and trading institutions to only “transactions” or “digital commodities” that are “not vulnerable to exploitation,” but does not attempt to define what is “easily vulnerable.” Fraud”.
Heath Tarbert, chief legal officer of Citadel Securities and former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), found the definition of required registrants under the bill to be overly broad. He also favored a clear ban on law enforcement:
“While the CFTC does not typically participate in rulemaking, it is important to clarify the thinking of Congress on this point.”
Chervinsky was concerned that the definition of “digital commodity platform” is too broad and could “impose onerous requirements that are not justified by the small amount of risk they pose to some companies.” He noted privacy concerns in the requirements for those platforms.
1/ Senate Agriculture Committee@SenateAgDems & @SenateAgGOP) today held a critical hearing on the Digital Products Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), legislation to regulate crypto spot markets.
It’s a good account, but it needs some work. Here’s why.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) September 15, 2022
The speakers also had different concerns about the scope of the bill. According to Warren and Chervinsky, the bill seeks specifics to limit the CFTC’s authority to regulate transactions that do not take place in the United States.
The bill can also be interpreted as a “decentralized finance (DeFi) ban,” Chervinsky said. Warren echoed that point, saying the bill has “non-workable” provisions for DeFi. “Some may interpret the article as offering products and services related to the technology,” said Daniel Dixon, CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation.
DCCPA was introduced by Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member John Boozman on August 3. This was the first hearing on the bill, which could not be passed during this Congress.