U.S. Congressman Proposes Regulatory Legislation to Initial Coin Offerings and Crypto

Here’s something pretty surprising that you probably didn’t expect to read: a lot of fascinating crypto-related news are recently coming from Ohio. Not that there’s anything wrong with Ohio, but it’s just… well, Ohio. So after Ohio became the first state to accept Bitcoin as payment for taxes and after several high-profile Ohio-based funds have pledged to pour millions on blockchain startups, new tidings are cropping up from the midwestern state.

Local news outlet cleveland.com reports that Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH 8th District) is planning to introduce a legislation for regulation of cryptocurrency, and more particularly, of initial coin offerings (ICOs). Davidson intends to establish a bipartisan support for the new proposed bill – and crypto is an area in which a rare cooperation between the two dominant political parties in the U.S. has already proved could be formed.

According to the report, the bill will also attempt to finally define cryptocurrency legally:

The bipartisan bill would seek to create an “asset class” for tokens, which would prevent them from being classified as securities, but would also allow the federal government to regulate initial coin offerings more effectively.

Today, there is some discrepancy between several U.S. government agencies with regard to how they view cryptocurrencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for instance, regards ICOs more as securities than utilities, which means heavier regulations; on the other hand, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exhibits a more flexible approach to crypto when it comes to regulations. Davidson’s proposed bill is supposed to bridge that gap and find some sort of regulatory middle ground, which would enable cryptocurrency both grow and evolve, but also to have common sense regulation and oversight to protect consumers.

Davidson presented his legislative proposal at the Blockland Solutions conference in Cleveland, where for four days crypto enthusiasts gathered and discussed various utilizations of blockchain technology. It certainly seems that Ohio becomes a central hub for crypto innovation in the U.S. and perhaps also worldwide.