A new stablecoins bill proposal being discussed today in Congress would fail to adequately address the many risks that the industry posed to consumers, investors and financial markets, according to Americans for Financial Reform, Demand Progress and a dozen consumer protection groups. The bill is a focus of today’s hearing held by the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion.
AFREF joined partner organizations to express concerns about the grave risks stablecoins pose to households and our financial system and urged the Committee to take the utmost care to not advance legislation that will increase these risks by expanding the reach of stablecoins without providing adequate protections. The letter highlights many elements that make the bill inefficient in providing adequate protections for consumers, investors, and financial markets.
Washington, D.C. — The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators made the right call Tuesday by issuing a warning regarding the risks that crypto-assets pose to banking organizations. There is widespread volatility, fraud risk, legal uncertainties, unfair and deceptive practices, run and contagion risks, high levels of concentration and interconnections between firms, and poor risk management and governance found throughout the industry – all of which spells danger for investors and consumers alike.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2022 CONTACT: Carter Dougherty carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org (202) 251-6700 Collapse of Major Crypto Exchange FTX Is a Reminder of Crypto’s Instability Consumer Advocacy Groups Urge Regulators to Step Up Scrutiny; Warn Congress to Avoid Watered-Down Policy Responses Washington, DC – Today’s announcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans for Financial Reform and two leading financial regulatory experts, sent a detailed letter to the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, highlighting major shortcomings in a new bill, the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 (S. 4760/H.R. 8730).
Americans for Financial Reform and the Take on Wall Street campaign gathered several experts on July 1 to lay out the multiple ugly truths about crypto and addressed a few reasons why we should not take the promises made by its most enthusiastic advocates at face value, and why regulators need to use the authority they already have to oversee this market.
Washington, DC – A bill introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis to revamp regulation of cryptocurrencies is little more than a giveaway to an industry that wraps itself in the mantle of innovation but poses serious risks to investors, consumers, and possibly even financial stability.
Washington, D.C. — A broad coalition of bank and credit union associations and consumer organizations submitted a letter today to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services urging passage of the Close the ILC Loophole Act, introduced by Representatives Chuy Garcia (D-IL) and Lance Gooden (R-TX).
Today, in a letter to Congress, 17 national advocacy organizations representing consumers, investors, and digital rights concerns called on the House Financial Services Committee to hold a hearing scrutinizing the steps tech giant Google (Alphabet) is taking to enter the cryptocurrency and digital assets markets, and how such moves might negatively impact privacy rights, consumer protections and safeguards against economic concentration. The call echoes concerns raised previously by advocates regarding Facebook’s designs on the financial services sector with the introduction of its now scuttled stablecoin, Libra (renamed Diem).
We, the undersigned organizations, write to you as advocates of transparency in digital asset markets. The cryptocurrency market boom has led to large corporations investing in the field, including Facebook (now Meta), whose problematic “Libra” cryptocurrency proposal was scrutinized in a 2019 hearing held by the Committee, at your direction. Facebook has since abandoned the project in light of the concerns raised at this hearing and due to push back from policymakers, public interest organizations, and financial regulators.