Senator Cortez Masto: If We Don’t Lead In Blockchain Technology, China Or Someone Else Will

In the second hearing dubbed “Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain,” senior United States Senator from Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto, said that blockchain is a technology with potential that’s not going to go away. 

Blockchain Is Not Going Away

Today, the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs sat again to discuss the potential creation of a regulatory framework governing cryptocurrencies and digital assets. 

Witnessing on the hearing was Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Circle. 

While there’s clear uncertainty among officials regarding how cryptocurrencies should be governed, most of them seem to believe in the potential of blockchain technology, despite the hoops it has to jump through before reaching widespread adoption. 

Particularly vocal in her beliefs was Senator Catherine Cortez Masto who believes that blockchain has disruptive potential and it’s here to stay. She said:

I do think that blockchain technology … there’s potential for it. It’s a platform that has the ability to transform so many sectors of this country from, what we are talking about right now – the financial sector, to the energy sector, to healthcare records, to everything. I think there’s potential here and it’s not going to go away. It is something we will have to address because if we, as a country, do not lead in this technology, China or some other country is going to do so.

Not So Fast, Though

Despite the positivity surrounding blockchain technology and its potential applications, the Committee didn’t sound too excited about cryptocurrencies built on top of it. 

The hearing is the second one on the matter. The prior hearing saw Facebook’s head of Libra, David Marcus, making the case for the social media mogul’s foray into the field.  

Back then, Steven Mnuchin, the US Secretary of Treasury, said that Facebook has to convince regulators of their very high standards before getting access to the country’s financial system. Just yesterday, however, Facebook warned its investors that it may never get to launch Libra, citing regulatory problems and lack of experience in the field. 

During today’s hearing, the Committee didn’t sound very convinced and there was uncertainty revolving around whether cryptocurrencies should fit within the existing regulatory framework or they deserve a new one to be made from scratch. 

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