Dear President-Elect Trump,
As you begin your second term as President of the United States, we, as members of the crypto law bar, would like to remind you of your promise to make the US the crypto capital of the world. In your keynote address at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville last year, you expressed your commitment to this goal. As you return to the presidential office this Monday, we would like to offer our recommendations for regulatory policies that will help you achieve this goal.
The United States, with its foundation of personal liberty, is in a prime position to lead the world in the development of crypto. However, until now, US regulators have failed to adapt existing laws to digital assets and blockchains, creating an unfavorable business environment that has driven many entrepreneurs and developers to other countries.
To unleash American ingenuity and support the blockchain industry, we propose that you focus on three areas: supporting US companies, promoting crypto values such as privacy and decentralization, and creating a favorable business environment domestically.
The crypto industry has produced a variety of use-cases, including digital gold, stablecoins, decentralized finance, and more. These are being responsibly advanced in the US by companies like Coinbase, Circle, and Consensys, as well as developers contributing to the open-source, decentralized infrastructure of crypto. To continue competing with international rivals, these parties need clear rules and regulatory guidance.
In terms of regulations, we recommend that Congress clearly delineate the scope of jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for token issuance and secondary sales. This will provide a clear understanding of when assets fall under the jurisdiction of these regulators.
It is important for Congress to resist giving the US securities laws an overbroad application, as the SEC has done. Tokens powered by open-source software and consensus mechanisms that are minimally dependent on centralized actors should not be considered securities, as there is no legal relationship between token owners and an “issuer” as defined by securities laws. Additionally, assets such as art NFTs and non-investment activities like staking and lending bitcoin should not be subject to securities laws.
We urge Congress to be bold in their approach to regulations, not feeling bound by previous legislative efforts that may have unintended consequences. We also recommend looking to the regulatory experiences of other nations, such as the European Union’s MiCA framework, for guidance.
We believe that by implementing these policies, the US can truly become the crypto capital of the world and continue to lead in this innovative industry. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Names]
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