EU commissioner urges U.S. to create new rules for crypto-currencies and says “we need to consider global regulation of crypto-currencies”

The European Commission’s financial services commissioner has reportedly urged U.S. lawmakers to create new rules to regulate the crypto industry. “We do need to see other players legislating as well… We need to look at global regulation of crypto“, said the commissioner.

EU commissioner calls on U.S. lawmakers to establish new rules for the crypto-currency industry.

Mairead McGuinness, the European Commission’s commissioner for financial services, discussed the regulation of crypto-currencies in an interview with the Financial Times, published Tuesday.

Referring to the proposed Crypto Asset Markets Act (MiCA), which will provide a regulatory framework for crypto-currencies in all EU countries, she stressed that any regulation imposed on the crypto-currency sector would have to be global to work. The Commissioner stated:

We need to see other players legislating as well… maybe differently, but with the same goal… We need to look at global regulation of crypto-currencies.

Mairead McGuinness urged U.S. lawmakers to “Develop sweeping new rules to govern the crypto industry.“, the publication described, adding that it warned that digital assets could pose a threat to financial stability if allowed to grow without regulation.

During her recent trip to Washington Mairead McGuinness met with several US lawmakers who have been pushing for bills to be introduced in Congress to regulate the crypto-currency industry, including Representative Patrick McHenry and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

The House of Representatives passed a bill in April titled “Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act” (Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act), which was introduced by Patrick McHenry. It requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to “Create a task force focused on digital assets“. Patrick McHenry has repeatedly criticized the SEC for regulating the crypto industry through law enforcement. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and pro-bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a comprehensive crypto bill in June entitled “Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act“.

Mairead McGuinness stated that she was encouraged by meetings with U.S. legislators and that she thought U.S. politicians “were moving in the same direction” than those of the EU. Nevertheless, she cautioned, “There is a lot of concern at the European level about whether crypto should not be regulated“. The Financial Services Commissioner noted:

There could be – over time, if it develops – problems for financial stability. There are also problems for investors related to a lack of certainty.

Meanwhile, India’s finance minister has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take a leading role in regulating crypto-assets. The Indian government plans to discuss crypto asset regulation with G20 member countries during India’s presidency. The finance minister said India hopes to achieve a technology-driven regulatory framework for crypto.