A New Congressional Hearing Seems Positive For Crypto And Digital Assets

A new congressional hearing that occurred before the US House Committee on Agriculture struck a positive tone towards the impact of cryptocurrencies and digital assets – and their contribution towards the economy and processes.

Many engineers, entrepreneurs, and academics took part in the hearing. Some of the most popular names included:

• 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
• 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

What’s interesting is the fact that many controversial topics were brought up at the hearing. One of them was the news about the recent indictments of the recent 12 Russia-linked hackers and their alleged involvement in the 2016 US elections. Here, Bitcoin was mentioned as the method that hackers used to fund their activities.

However, the committee chairman also pointed towards the tracking of the funds – and how in this case – it was much easier than cash, stating:

“As long as stupid criminals keep using bitcoin, that’d be great.”

The technical aspect of the hearing was also there. Amber Baldet supported a great case for current blockchain technology and its potential future and growth – into new foundational technology like the SMTP email protocol.

If we have to sum up what was talked and discussed at this hearing, we could use the bottom line from Chairman Conaway, who stated that “the hearing was very elucidating for them on different issues.”

In the end, it is definitely encouraging to see the committee bringing up the topic of Bitcoin and informing experts in all fields on the complexities of blockchain technologies.