US lawmakers think about regulating the market of cryptocurrencies (2)

American legislators are concerned about speculative trading and investments in cryptocurrencies. Some of them call for the regulation of digital assets as securities, as a result of which investors in cryptocurrencies will also be protected by the SEC.
Virtual currencies have existed for a long time, but recently the scale of speculation with cryptocurrencies sharply increased, as well as the number of fraudulent schemes that promise investors an income of more than 1,000 percent in a few weeks.
In the period of volatility in financial markets, hackers also intensified in this sphere. In January, they stole a digital currency worth $530 million from the Japanese crypto-exchange Coincheck.
Bitcoin, the most famous virtual currency, in early 2018 has fallen in price more than twice after takeoff by more than 1.300 percent.
Regulators around the world began to sound the alarm, saying that the cryptocurrencies simplify money laundering and the financing of terrorist organizations, harm consumers and undermine confidence in the global financial system.

US lawmakers think about regulating the market of cryptocurrencies (1)

The US authorities, alarmed by the global riot around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, are preparing to consider new rules, the introduction of which will lead to tightening of federal control over this emerging class of assets, several lawmakers told Reuters.
Among members of both leading US parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives, there is an increasing desire to start fighting against the risks that cryptocurrencies represent for investors and the financial system, lawmakers said.
Even conservative Republicans advocating for a free market said that the need for regulation may arise if the cryptocurrencies begin to threaten the US economy.
There is no doubt that there is a need for a regulatory framework, according to Republican Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Banking Committee.
At the moment, digital assets are located in the so-called gray zone of the legal field, in various situations falling under the regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve or the state authorities.