Instead of stifling innovation and creating incentives to create jobs overseas, regulators and lawmakers should maintain a dialogue with participants in the digital asset industry. That was the call made by Congressmen Patrick McHenry and Glenn Thompson.

Instead of stifling innovation and creating incentives to create jobs overseas, regulators and lawmakers should maintain a dialogue with participants in the digital asset industry. That was the call made by Congressmen Patrick McHenry and Glenn Thompson.

They described SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's recent comments as "troubling." House Republican Representatives warned that his proposals to give the agency more powers could have "long-term consequences.

The authors of the open letter to Gensler and CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said their initiative would be consistent with the proposed Barriers to Innovation Act. The lower chamber of Congress approved it in April 2021.

The document requires the SEC and the CFTC to create a joint working group on digital assets with market participants, academic research organizations, and investor protection within 90 days.

According to the congressmen, this is the only way to find a compromise between regulation and innovation for a "thriving digital asset market in the United States."

McHenry and Thompson urged regulators to provide a detailed plan for implementing the initiative.

Recall that U.S. House of Representatives member Anna Eshoo asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an open letter to amend the cryptocurrency tax provisions in the infrastructure bill.

The document had previously gone to the House of Representatives with language unfavorable to the industry. Not only exchanges or marketplaces for digital assets, but also, for example, miners, validators, and wallet developers fell under the definition of "broker" mentioned in it.