The biggest regulatory story of the week was a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing squarely focused on crypto. Even the event’s title — “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States” — conveyed a different vibe than countless previous Congressional meetings that had been first and foremost about investor protection or security risks or threats to financial stability. 

Judging from reactions from many industry participants and experts, the exchange has been received as an overwhelming net positive, with legislators asking informed questions and otherwise acting like their goal was to understand this new thing rather than act on preconceived notions. Of course, there were tired questions about Bitcoin’s environmental footprint and Representative Brad Sherman’s anti-crypto rants, but the entire thing finally looked a lot like a constructive dialogue between the digital asset industry and lawmakers that we’ve been longing to see for a while.

Below is the concise version of the latest “Law Decoded” newsletter. For the full breakdown of policy developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below.

Hearing the industry

The hearing, called by the Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters, centered on the role of crypto exchanges, the growth of the stablecoin sector, and general issues around overarching digital asset regulation. Several top crypto CEOs were summoned to represent the crypto space.

Some of the salient themes…