Five major bitcoin exchanges across the U.S. received letters from Congress asking for information on the steps they take to fight the fraud committed by crypto.
These inquiries come as part of the latest push by Congress to introduce stricter regulation to the crypto sector within the U.S., as the nation is still unable to decide which of its numerous regulators should be responsible for it.
Congress”fights fraud and scams
In the last week the four federal agencies and five crypto exchanges within the U.S. received letters from Congress. The letters were sent to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the letters ask for information on regulators and exchanges’ measures to stop fraud and scams in the cryptocurrency industry.
The representative contacted Coinbase, FTX, Binance.US, Kraken, and KuCoin to supply documents and information from 2009 detailing how they dealt with fraud in the cryptocurrency and accounts that they had on their platform.
Congress also demanded that the exchanges disclose the techniques and methods they employ to limit the chance of fraud. They must submit their answers by September 12, 2018. provide answers and suggestions for what steps the federal government can be taking to reduce the number of scams.
The U.S. Department of Treasury The U.S. Department of Treasury Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Trade Commission were all requested to share information about how they are protecting consumers in this space.
Rep. Krishnamoorthi serves as the chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy which is which is part of the principal investigation committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. This committee is among the House’s most powerful and influential organizations, since it has power over a variety of public affairs and the ability to create new laws or amend existing laws.
This is the committee’s initial meeting with the crypto market and could result in further involvement in the field. There is a consensus that recent demise of Voyager and Celsius caused Congress to focus on introducing stronger protections for consumers in the sector.
It is believed that the U.S. cryptocurrency market is not regulated in the majority of cases despite the fact that the country has several federal agencies responsible for each aspect of the market.
Krishnamoorthi wrote in the letter to the SEC:
“Existing federal regulations do not comprehensively or clearly cover cryptocurrencies under all circumstances.”
He added:
“Debates continue among U.S. government authorities as to whether cryptocurrencies should be treated as securities, commodities, or both in various circumstances. Without clear definitions and guidance, agencies will continue their infighting and will be unable effectively to implement consumer and investor protections related to cryptocurrencies and the exchanges on which they are traded.”
