Top Democrat tells SEC, CFTC to bolster crypto transparency with current authority

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who holds the purse strings for the future of crypto legislation, told federal agencies to use their current authority to go after bad actors in the industry.

Brown urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam to bolster transparency in crypto markets to help protect consumers.

"As Congress reviews crypto legislation, I ask that your agencies assess their authorities and evaluate how we can build on our existing disclosure guardrails to effectively target the deficiencies we have observed in digital asset tokens and digital asset platforms," Brown said in a letter on Thursday. 

Both the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, led by Republican lawmakers, advanced bills in July to overhaul crypto market regulation and write rules for stablecoins. The bills are teed up for a vote in the full House and if passed would go next to the Senate.

"Where additional tools would facilitate addressing these issues, Congress can work to provide Americans with the information they need. Finally, I urge you to use existing tools to strengthen transparency and hold bad actors accountable," Brown added. 

Is legislation needed?

Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gensler has said new crypto legislation is not needed to and has asserted that existing securities laws suffice. 

Gensler has said most cryptocurrencies are securities and has called on crypto exchanges to register with the agency. 

"This crypto space that much of it, without prejudging any one token, much of it is under the securities laws, but unfortunately, much of it is also non-compliant," he said on Wednesday at a conference hosted by Better Markets.