The Issue of Financial Inclusion Questioned by Mehrsa Baradaran

The Senate banking committee held a hearing on blockchain technology and the possible regulation of cryptocurrencies.

Many of the participants and senators expressed skepticism about the ability of cryptocurrencies to expand access to global financial services.

The hearing was attended by Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Crypto Circle, a law professor at the University of California, Mehrsa Baradaran, and Rebecca Nelson, Congress’s international trade and finance specialist.

Cryptocurrencies, a solution to the problem of financial inclusion?

To begin with, Baradaran questioned the ability of cryptocurrencies to solve the problem of financial inclusion. She said that the Federal Reserve and other institutions already have the necessary technology and the power to solve the problem of access to banking services.

“No cryptocurrency can do this until there is widespread adoption,”

she explained.

Inappropriate legislation

Jeremy Allaire has argued that current cryptocurrency legislation makes their adoption difficult. In addition, the definition of securities / securities does not adapt to existing digital asset types.

“There is a fundamental mismatch between the regulatory guide and the nature of these assets”,

Allaire said during the hearing.

In the meantime, countries with a better defined official policy around cryptocurrency benefit from this clarity. Nelson emphasized that crypto hubs are multiplying as countries such as Switzerland and Bermuda strengthen their regulatory frameworks in an effort to attract fintech companies.

Allaire said that the guidelines published by the Financial Action Group (FATF) are a good starting point for bringing regulations on the same page. These guidelines have been accepted by several nations and sovereign coalitions, including the G20, which means that most jurisdictions will comply with FATF guidelines.

US Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) said blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize several sectors and called on parliamentarians to look into the possibilities of technology with a view to the future.

“If we as a country do not drive this technology, China or another country will do it,”

she said.