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A blockchain lobbying group backed by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, Circle and Fidelity has called on the US Congress to adopt a legal framework for digital assets or risk falling behind other countries.
On May 19, the US Chamber of Digital Commerce sent a call to action to Congress and the Senate to prioritize the adoption of a national approach to regulating cryptocurrencies.
The organization added that it is asking Congress to organize a “Digital Asset and Blockchain Solarium Commission” to develop a “national strategic approach to digital assets and blockchain technology” in the US.
There was a stark warning that inaction would allow “hostile countries” to continue their activities in a space that “jeopardizes U.S. leadership and dollar supremacy.”
He mentioned China as an example of such hostilities with the development of a blockchain-based international service network (BSN) to “enable global development and trade and fill the vacuum created by the US.”
He also mentioned the growing number of countries that are considering or choosing to trade directly with China in yuan and are moving away from the US dollar. These include Saudi Arabia, Russia, France, Brazil and India.
Today, the @DigitalChamber issued a call to action urging Congress to organize a Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Solarium Commission to develop a national strategic approach to these technologies in the US
Let’s ensure US leadership in the #blockchain industry.
— Chamber of Digital Commerce (@DigitalChamber) May 18, 2023
Similarly, the organization mentioned a potential BRICS digital currency and other developments by Russia and Iran regarding gold-backed digital currencies.
The summary concluded that regulatory opacity in the US “impedes the country’s ability to lead and capitalize on this innovation revolution”, adding:
“This renunciation seriously hinders domestic development and cedes advantages to other countries at the expense of the American innovator and investor.”
The name of the proposed commission refers to the Solarium Project, which was created by President Eisenhower after World War II and the start of the Cold War to counter the threat of Soviet expansion.
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, created in 2019, was created to develop a strategic approach to protecting against cyberattacks. The cryptocurrency advocacy group wants to have a similar strategy for digital assets and blockchain technology, which is “desperately in need of consensus due to the advances of other countries.”
RELATED: US Chamber of Commerce criticizes SEC’s ‘haphazard’ regulatory efforts
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is an American advocacy group founded in 2014 that promotes new technologies in the blockchain sector.
On May 19, the group supported Senator Tom Emmer in introducing the Securities Clarity Act, which aims to provide much-needed regulatory clarity for crypto assets and the blockchain industry in the US.
The @DigitalChamber applauds @GOPMajorityWhip for introducing The Securities Clarity Act with @RepDarrenSoto. Clear definitions of #digitalassets will provide much-needed certainty for investors, consumers, and businesses while prospering innovation in the US pic.twitter.com/LuLqutVMr1
— Chamber of Digital Commerce (@DigitalChamber) May 18, 2023
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission remains adamant that existing rules that were formed decades ago still apply to this new form of digital finance and the technology behind it.