Mad Crypto: Interest in cryptocurrency is growing in Washington D.C.

This post first appeared in Frank Chaparro’s weekly column “Mad Crypto,” which is sent to Genesis members’ inbox every Monday morning. 

Interest in cryptocurrency is swelling in Washington D.C.

Just a week after Facebook Libra mastermind David Marcus testified in front of U.S. lawmakers to assuage their concerns about the company's yet-to-launch digital currency, the Senate Committee of Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs announced it will hold a full committee hearing to examine regulations around the nascent cryptocurrency market. 

Insiders in Washington D.C. told me last night that the announcement came sooner than they anticipated, reflecting lawmakers' newfound interest in cryptocurrency. 

“Amazing that they are doing another hearing so quickly after the Facebook hearings,” one source, a lobbyist, said.

“When we met with [lawmakers] last week, they were eager to go beyond Facebook and look at the broader industry,” the person added. 

“Crypto is definitely more on the radar now,” another source said. 

“The [Facebook hearing] was a spin, but there are lots of follow on work,” the person added. 

Circle’s Jeremy Allaire is among the three witnesses who will testify as part of the hearing, joining Rebecca Nelson, a specialist in international trade, and Mehrsa Baradaran, a professor at Irvine Law School at University of California. 

Interestingly, Circle recently announced it would move a significant amount of its business offshore to Bermuda for a clearer regulatory framework. The firm has “geo-fenced” a number of assets to its U.S. client for fear of reprisal from regulators. 

Recently, different state and federal regulators have launched investigations into exchanges such as BitMEX and Bitfinex. Bittrex, like Circle, has delisted a number of cryptocurrencies trading in the U.S. 

“Jeremy will have a good story to tell after the Bermuda news,” one source added.