Former US Congressman Harold Ford Jr. calls for ‘sensible’ crypto regulations at the federal level
Harold Ford Jr., a former Democratic Congressman representing Tennessee’s 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, has called for “sensible” regulations in the cryptocurrency sector at the federal level.
"Congressional attention on this issue is warranted, and lawmakers need to press forward in crafting sensible regulations,” Ford Jr. wrote in an op-ed published last week in CNBC. He added that U.S. lawmakers need to separate “the crypto wheat from the Facebook chaff.”
The former Congressman further said that federal regulatory agencies, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in particular, need to step up. “The SEC now has the opportunity to take the lead on regulation that works with industry, not against it.”
Lack of regulatory clarity has already seen some crypto firms shifting their base from the U.S. to countries such as Malta and Gibraltar, said Ford Jr. Crypto regulations should “take the form of forward-looking rules that foster innovation,” he added.
Indeed, the crypto sector has been awaiting regulatory clarity since long, as even after ten years of its existence, it is still unclear exactly how bitcoin should be regulated in the U.S., as well as which cryptocurrencies fall under securities laws.
