US Congress

Better late than never. Seems there is word that one Republican senator and two Republican congressman are drafting a bill that would definitively define cryptocurrencies, prevent against taxation for transfers and keep the Feds out of the whole melee. Whether it can come to pass, we can't say, but at least it's an important first step toward more legislative clarity in the US around the whole digital currency space. In the meantime, the SEC has issued a statement recently about ICOs. The US leadership is getting on board on this topic, but still woefully behind the times relative to other superpower nations such as China and Russia.

(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)

"Members of the U.S. Congress are drafting legislation that would protect certain forms of cryptocurrency from being used for illegal activities while helping cultivate mainstream adoption. Reports indicate that at least one Republican senator and two Republican congressmen are working on the bill.

According to a source who spoke to The Daily Caller, the goals of the legislation are to prevent cryptocurrency from being considered as a form of security or investment, to protect transfers against taxation, and to ensure the federal government does not interfere with cryptocurrencies.

This interference is an issue we’ve seen crop up in recent months. In May, the Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017 sought to introduce a provision that would require anyone in possession of more than $10,000 in cryptocurrency to disclose it when passing a U.S. customs checkpoint — this is problematic given that a virtual currency like bitcoin is always considered to be on someone’s person.Only cryptocurrencies that are compliant with a set of minimum requirements will be afforded the protections proposed in the bill, and the source claims a new, government-compliant digital currency is in the works: “There is a new entity that is considering issuing a brand new digital currency that is compliant with anti-money laundering laws unlike any other in circulation.”...

Full Story at Futurism