Today a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee will conduct a hearing entitled, “A Golden Age of Digital Assets: Charting a Path Forward.” One of witnesses will be Timothy Massad, a Harvard research fellow, and former Chair of the Commodities and Futures Commission (CFTC) during the Obama administration. In his testimony he provides a detailed critique of the STABLE Act, the House’s stablecoin bill. The Senate also has the GENIUS Act Bill which is somewhat similar.
As context, it’s helpful to know Mr Massad’s positions on crypto. Bitcoin was classified as a commodity while he was CFTC Chair. He prefers rulemaking and clarity over regulation by enforcement. However, he has compared DeFi to driving a car without brakes, and is not keen on self hosted wallets when it comes to stablecoins.
On the other hand, he objects to assertions that crypto is mainly used for illicit activity and believes crypto is here to stay. Ultimately, Mr Massad’s motivation is to ensure the technology has true social utility. Whether or not one shares all his views, he raises several important issues.
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