Today marked a huge step towards institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the American market. The SEC and CFTC hearings on cryptocurrency were surprisingly optimistic. Several potential benefits of the new technology were outlined, with very little attention being brought to potential negatives often focused on by the media, such as money laundering and illegal purchases. According to these testimonies, cryptocurrency will be allowed to flourish as a method of investment in America, albeit with some important changes.
Coindesk.com summarized his stance on the issue as a "do no harm" approach. https://www.coindesk.com/cftc-to-take-do-no-harm-approach-on-crypto-regulation/
The new approach is focused on preventing scamming, and ensuring that new ICOs are vetted in such a manner that new products are not pushed to the market that deceive investors and negatively impact the market as a whole.
This article by Cointelegraph.com highlights some exerpts from the page and a half dedicated by Chairman Gaincarlo to the potential benefits blockchain technology can bring to markets as broad as the financial sector to charities. https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-and-cftc-hearing-more-legitimate-icos-or-if-there-was-no-bitcoin-there-would-be-no-blockchain
Other highlights from the hearing include:
Comparisons between bitcoins market cap to the likes of McDonalds and gold, noting the immense room for future growth
Senator Warner drawing parallels between current blockchain technology and cellular technology in the 1980's
Senator Warner calling blockchain "transformational" with a potential market cap of 20 trillion dollars by 2020
Gaincarlo claiming that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to have "intrinsic value"
Mentions of the governments responsibility to foster this new technology for the younger generations heavily invested in it. "We owe it this new generation to respect their enthusiasm about virtual currencies with a thoughtful and balanced response, not a dismissive one" - Gaincarlo
Bitcoin being defined as a commodity, instead of a security
Overall, this hearing leaves room for a potentially bright future for virtual currencies in the US.
"Said simply, we should embrace the pursuit of technological advancement, as well as new and innovative techniques for capital raising, but not at the expense of the principles undermining our well-founded and proven approach to protecting investors and markets." -Gaincarlo