The U.S. Senator from Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis, lately championed Bitcoin as a future foreign money in an interview. The interview began with the query, “Is Bitcoin a foreign money or commodity?” Senator Lummis rapidly and confidently responded:
“I personal [Bitcoin], a commodity. I imagine it is going to be foreign money sometime, however at this level of its existence, it’s a commodity similar to cattle, wheat, and gold. Sooner or later, it’s going to turn out to be a way of cost…and it’s going to occur actually quick.”
To elucidate her confidence, Lummis referred to the launch of the Bitcoin cost protocol, Lightning Community. She famous that Bitcoin got here out of a whitepaper that didn’t embrace technique of cost. Lightning Community crammed the hole by offering a cost methodology for Bitcoin which ought to result in additional innovation within the cost area.
Is it a foreign money if it’s denominated in U.S. {dollars}?
Following up on Lummis’ arguments, NBC information journalist Chuck Todd stated that Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies are denominated in U.S. {dollars}, and due to this fact they might not have the ability to behave as currencies.
In response, Lummis claimed that Chris Giancarlo deliberately made this denomination throughout his tenure because the Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) to guard the US {dollars}’ worldwide standing. Lummis stated:
“[Giancarlo] Correctly acknowledged that we need to see Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies to be denominated in US {dollars}…I feel that’s tremendously vital as a result of we wish the US greenback to proceed to be the worldwide foreign money.”
How does it get regulated?
Accepting the duality, Todd later requested concerning the appropriate regulatory strategy to Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies. Lummis, once more, confidently argued that it might be regulated each as a commodity and a inventory.
She stated that such a regulatory suggestion had been made within the invoice drafted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and herself and could be offered in April. She added that:
“Will probably be regulated by each, simply the way in which present conventional belongings are. CFTC will regulate it as a commodity, [and it] can even have spot markets and futures markets. The SEC [the US Securities and Exchange Commission] facet will regulate for shopper safety and different vital laws to ensure purchasers are usually not topic to fraud.”
She additionally stated that their invoice included a way to forestall tasks from being shut down resulting from concern of the unknown. Based on Lummis, the brand new invoice can even recommend making a regulated sandbox surroundings to permit individuals to construct and innovate freely.