Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn, an American politician and attorney who is the U.S. Senator-elect of Wyoming (after being elected to succeed Mike Enzi in 2020), reveals that she has been working on the “si” transaction reporting rule (o potentially affecting crypto-assets is (currently) being considered by the US Treasury Department).
Been working on the rumor transaction reporting rule affecting digital assets (currently under consideration by the Treasury) and wanted to share with you where I am: A tweet to follow. . (1/8)
– Cynthia Lummis (@CynthiaMLummis) December 18, 2020
Wiederspahn said:
“I am very concerned that the Treasury Department is considering an urgent rule governing self-sufficient digital asset wallets and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Instead of prematurely adopting a rule on this complex subject, [the] The Treasury should immediately embark on a transparent process to engage with Congress and industry, building consensus to drive America forward. ”
He added:
“America is in a battle for competitiveness with China and Russia for the future of finance. Without broad consensus, rule would be a step backwards as our country begins to realize the transformative effects of digital assets and financial technology. ”
Wiederspahn confirmed that she had spoken to Secretary Mnuchin last week and that she had “pressed strongly for a better way forward.” She believes that Congress is “best placed to weigh the competing policy issues at stake.” She believes a rule now adopted “could also extend the BSA to new types of transactions beyond the intent of Congress.”
He noted that the US Treasury rule would also be “likely to be adopted without public comment under a frequently abused portion” of the Administrative Procedure Act. She believes that “transparency makes good policy” and is “as simple as that really is.”
He also mentioned that the “hallmark of digital assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), is” the ability to conduct transactions without an intermediary. ” She argues that “this promotes financial inclusion and freedom.” She believes that a rule adopted “at this point would be a solution to search for a problem.” She also believes that “more important BSA-related issues exist.”
Wiederspahn added:
“My State of Wyoming has set the bar high for the rest of the country in promoting responsible financial innovation, including BSA compliance. The Treasury Department should take note. I look forward to building on this strong foundation in the United States Senate. ”
As reported in November 2020, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has also expressed concerns about possible new regulations for self-sufficient crypto wallets.
Armstrong, Co-founder of Coinbase, the leading US digital asset exchange, had noted that the company had heard rumors that the US Treasury and Secretary Mnuchin had been planning to “rush out” some new regulations for self-sufficient cryptocurrency wallets – which would be before the end of his term.
Armstrong had indicated that he was concerned that this could potentially have “unintended” side effects, which is why he decided to share these potential issues via social media.
Armstrong said:
“We believe that this proposed regulation would require financial institutions such as Coinbase to verify the recipient / owner of the self-sustaining wallet, collecting identifying information on that party, before a withdrawal could be sent to that self-sufficient wallet . This sounds like a reasonable idea on the surface, but it is a bad idea in practice because it is often impractical to gather recipient identification information in the cryptoeconomy. ”
He predicted:
“Given these barriers, we are likely to see fewer transactions from crypto financial institutions to self-sustaining wallets. This would effectively create a walled garden for crypto financial services in the US, cutting us off from innovation happening in the rest of the world. This would be bad for America because it would force US consumers to use foreign unregulated crypto companies to access these services. And in the long run, I think this would jeopardize America’s status as a financial hub. ”
He confirmed that Coinbase had sent a letter to the Treasury, along with several other crypto companies and investors, expressing these concerns while also highlighting some other issues.