Regulators continue to clarify positions

The Republican representative for Kentucky’s 2nd congressional district, Brett Guthrie, recently presented the “Advancing Blockchain Act” bill to the Federal Trade Commission.

The act urges U.S. lawmakers to create a legal foundation for digital payments and blockchain technology adoption across the country. The bill promotes the study of the implications of blockchain for the economy and potential use cases across the U.S.

Guthrie says a legal framework for the adoption of blockchain technology in the U.S. is urgently needed so that the U.S. is able to compete with other nation-states that are already actively trialing blockchain initiatives.

“The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made it clear that we need to maintain American leadership in technology. America is a nation of innovation and enterprise – and we need to keep it that way," Guthrie stated.

The bill was one of 15 presented as an Emerging Tech legislative package by House Republicans. The Emerging Tech bills were presented on May 12 by Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

“Now more than ever, we must create policies that ensure America beats China over the next decade and beyond by fostering innovation, securing supply chains, and protecting consumers,” Walden and McMorris Rodgers state. “These pillars of our legislative agenda unleash free-market ingenuity to spur American leadership and economic growth in the next generation of technology that will define our future.”

China has invested several years of research and development into a digital currency/electronic payment system, which is now in selected trials in some Chinese cities. In 2019 Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China should apply a “greater effort” to develop and apply blockchain technologies and gain an “edge over other major countries.”

The Beijing News recently reported that Jieqing Tan, deputy to the National People’s Congress, has proposed a new fund for blockchain development. Tan suggested that blockchain could help “modernize” the country’s governance system. Echoing previous comments by Xi Jinping, Tan said, "China should seize the future of global blockchain technology and industrial development to better protect national sovereignty and security."

Iran has also clarified several regulations involving cryptocurrencies. Local media has reported that the Iranian parliament has just proposed a bill that would regulate cryptocurrency exchanges and digital currencies under its restrictive “foreign currency exchange” regulations and “money smuggling” laws.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani directed the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), to create a national strategy for crypto mining in 2016. Iran’s government issues mining licenses to companies wanting to mine and sell crypto assets. Iran has reportedly issued 1,000 such licenses in its first six months. The now hosts 4% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, a 50% increase since September last year.

Bittrex Global COO Stephen Stonberg said "In many cases, the regulation outside of the U.S. is more clear, especially when it comes to altcoins and some of the more interesting blockchain projects we’re working on.”

The long-standing U.S. based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex, which was founded in 2013, one of their operations to Liechtenstein. Bittrex Global an exchange provider that offers services to traders based outside of the U.S. and was first registered in Malta.

Bittrex Global was moved to Liechtenstein following the ratification of the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act. The act allows a wide variety of assets, including cryptocurrencies, real estate, and securities to be tokenized.

When the act passed, in 2019, Liechtenstein Prime Minister Adrian Hasler said, “For the token economy it’s essential to have clear regulation. We have clarity for the companies and people here who work in blockchain. For Liechtenstein, it is important as a small country to use blockchain technology for the future, for new business models. It’s very important to be open for innovation.”