Lawmakers and regulators in the United States could be doing a much better job attracting innovative fintech startups to the country, Coin Center Executive Director Jerry Brito said at a recent cryptocurrency-focused event hosted by the Cato Institute .
Although the United States started out as the leader in Bitcoin regulation, it is now falling behind other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, where innovation in fintech and digital currency is being embraced with open arms.
The U.S. Has Been a Leader in Bitcoin Regulation
In 2013, the U.S. Senate held the first hearings on Bitcoin . In that same year, FinCEN released the first announcement by any government agency related to the technology. The IRS was also the first tax agency in the world to clarify the tax treatment of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Additionally, BitLicense in New York was the first licensing regime in the world directed at digital currencies.
“Although certainly imperfect, each of these pronouncements brought clarity and certainty to an emerging industry, and these approaches were copied around the world,” Brito said at the Cato event.
Other Countries Are Going Further
Brito also noted that the United States’ role as the regulatory leader for Bitcoin around the world is not guaranteed to last.
Other countries are beginning to start regulatory regimes that don’t merely tolerate cryptocurrency firms, but welcome them with open arms, he said.Brito pointed to the United Kingdom as a specific example of a country looking to foster growth in the digital currency space: “The U.K., for example, has created a regulatory framework that bends over backward to make it easy and quick for innovative startups and entrepreneurs to comply with the appropriate consumer protection regulations and safely enter the market.” Project innovate was an initiative Brito used to bring home his point about […]
