About 50 key industry players in the cryptocurrency and financial services industries will be meeting with members of Congress on Tuesday for a roundtable to discuss regulating initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the United States.
The roundtable, called “Legislating Certainty for Cryptocurrencies” and organized by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), was first reported by Axios.
Among the people who are slated to be in attendance at the roundtable include venture capital firms who are currently investing in cryptocurrencies, including Union Square Ventures and Andreesen Hororwitz; traditional financial services firms like Fidelity and State Street; both traditional and token exchanges including Nasdaq, Circle, Kraken, CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange; and cryptocurrency startups such as Ripple, CoinList and Harbor.
According to the invitation obtained by Axios, Rep. Davidson indicated that he’s interested in discussing “light-touch” regulation of ICOs.
Here are more details from the invitation via CNBC:
“Your input is critical to helping us preempt a heavy-handed regulatory approach that could stall innovation and kill the U.S. ICO market,” Davidson said in a letter to invitees.
The congressman outlined a list of eight questions for the meeting, including: “What is the best way to protect consumers from fraud?” The meeting will also cover private funding disclosures and token issuance laws, a spokesperson for Davidson said.
Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) are scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the roundtable, according to CNBC.
The U.S. government has been grappling with how to best regulate the unregulated markets of cryptocurrencies – and particularly ICOs – especially as money began pouring into both in 2017. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said at a Senate committee hearing on cryptocurrencies in February that the agency could seek new legislation to help enforce oversight of the of the crypto space, including ICOs.
A federal judge in New York recently ruled that ICOs can be regulated by U.S. securities laws, giving the SEC a significant victory as it seeks to gain oversight of the market. The SEC issued a warning to investors last year about the potential risks presented by ICOs.
Of course, governments across the globe have been dealing with how to begin regulating the crypto and ICO markets, but it appears regulators may finally be catching up to them.
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