Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives totally ditched a joint hearing on crypto policy on Tuesday. They were like, “Nah, we’re gonna talk about Trump’s ‘crypto corruption’ instead.” Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, was all, “I object to this joint hearing because of the corruption of the president.” And just like that, the meeting was ruined because they needed everyone to agree to move forward.
Waters was like, “Hey, come join us in another room to talk about Trump’s shady crypto deals.” Meanwhile, the Republicans were left to chat with their invited guests about their proposed crypto market structure bill.
So, there were basically two separate discussions happening in different rooms. Democrats were all fired up about banning top government officials from messing with crypto assets or businesses. They were like, “If we don’t stop this, it’s like legalizing shady stuff in public office.”
On the other side, the Republicans were trying to keep the conversation going on how to regulate the crypto industry. They were frustrated that the joint hearing got blocked, saying it was a missed opportunity for the American people.
Former Commodity Futures and Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam was there, arguing that the agency needed more power to regulate the crypto market. And a Coinbase executive, Greg Tusar, thought the market structure bill was a good move to bring clarity to the industry.
At the Democrats’ impromptu meeting, they were all about their own legislation to keep government officials away from crypto. Chastity Murphy, a former aide turned visiting fellow, said not stopping lawmakers from being involved in crypto was a recipe for disaster. She was like, “Letting Trump play around with crypto means he can decide what rules work for him.”
Senator Chris Murphy even introduced a bill to ban senior officials from supporting financial assets, including crypto. The divide between the parties was clear on how to handle the crypto world.
Jesse Hamilton, CoinDesk’s deputy managing editor, talked about the chaos that went down. He’s been covering Wall Street for years and knows a thing or two about the drama that comes with regulating crypto. He’s won awards for his reporting, from war zones to police beats. Jesse studied journalism and history in college, but he’s not into crypto himself.
The whole situation is a mess, with Democrats and Republicans going head-to-head on what to do about crypto. The joint hearing turned into two separate discussions, leaving important issues hanging in the air. Who knows how this will all play out in the end? It’s like a political soap opera unfolding right before our eyes.
