Crypto/Digital Asset Regulation and Consumer Protection

Brief
Cryptocurrencies and digital assets have quickly grown to represent a large amount of value and economic activity. This quick growth, however, has outstripped the government’s response. A national framework for regulating these assets has failed to emerge, with several federal agencies claiming conflicting jurisdictions. At the same time, states have come up with a patchwork of varying regulations that make it difficult for the US cryptocurrency markets to compete with those in other jurisdictions, especially China and Europe.

Currently, different departments of the federal government consider digital assets as property, commodities, or securities. Some states have onerous regulations in the space, such as NY’s BitLicense. Navigating this has had a chilling effect on the US digital asset market.

It’s time for the federal government to create clear guidelines as to how cryptocurrencies/digital asset markets will be treated and regulated so that investment can proceed with all relevant information."Investment in cryptocurrencies and digital assets has far outpaced our regulatory frameworks in the US. We should let investors, companies, and individuals know what the landscape and treatment will be moving forward to support innovation and development. The blockchain has vast potential."

Problems to be Solved

 * Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets have developed faster than regulations can keep up.
 * Several states have conflicting and varying regulations on digital asset markets.
 * Uncertainty in what regulatory framework will develop is causing US investment in the area to lag behind the investment of other countries.

Goals

 * Create clear guidelines in the digital asset world so that businesses and individuals can invest and innovate in the area without fear of a regulatory shift

Guiding Principles

 * Innovation
 * Economic growth

As President, I will…

 * Promote legislation that provides clarity in the cryptocurrency/digital asset market space by:
 * Defining what a token is, and when it is a security (e.g., recognizing “utility tokens”)
 * Define which federal agencies have regulatory power over the crypto/digital assets space
 * Provide for consumer protections in the space
 * Clarify the tax implications of owning, selling, and trading digital assets
 * Promote the nationwide adoption of recognition of protections afforded by a series LLC
 * Preempt state regulations when possible to create one national framework
 * Work with the sponsors of the Token Taxonomy Act and Wyoming legislators to promote the above, largely modeled after their work.