Bloomberg’s 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Campaign Plan Pledges Clearer Crypto Regulations

Democratic Party Presidential Aspirant and CEO of Bloomberg L.P, Michael Bloomberg, pledged to provide a clearer regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other matters relating to digital currencies, as part of his financial reform policy.

The cryptocurrency landscape in the U.S. is ambiguous, which has consequently affected the development of the virtual currency sector in the country; an issue that Bloomberg’s proposal seeks to amend.

Yang Out, Bloomberg In

The Bloomberg Campaign team published a Financial Reform Policy document on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, which advocated an improved financial system in the U.S., innovation, consumer protection, and working with U.S. regulators to provide a robust regulatory framework for the crypto sector.

Part of the financial reform plan reads:

“Cryptocurrencies have become an asset class worth hundreds of billions of dollars, yet regulatory oversight remains fragmented and undeveloped. For all the promise of the blockchain, Bitcoin and initial coin offerings, there’s also plenty of hype, fraud and criminal activity.”

Other crypto-related issues the document pledged to work on included providing a regulatory framework for ICOs, clarify when tokens are securities, and also clarifying the issue of crypto taxation. Currently, in the U.S., there is no uniformity when it comes to classifying ICO tokens.

The SEC views tokens as securities according to the Howey Test principle, while the CFTC considers them as commodities. Bloomberg’s financial reform plan proposes to clear the air on such matters. In addition, the plan aims to protect unsuspecting investors against crypto fraud and provide rules for digital currency custodians.

Although the crypto-related aspect in Bloomberg’s proposal is not elaborate, it is clear that the virtual currency community has another presidential candidate on their side, after Andrew Yang pulled out from the presidential race.

Yang, during his campaigns, was a vocal crypto proponent who advocated for a robust crypto regulatory framework for the digital currency industry and pushed for blockchain technology and crypto adoption. Back in 2018, the former presidential candidate declared he would accept donations in bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

Dealing With Ambiguous Crypto Regulations in the U.S.

Cryptocurrency stakeholders and investors have constantly complained about the lack of clear crypto policies that are adversely affecting the digital currency space in the U.S. The ambiguous virtual currency regulations have caused some crypto exchanges in the country to shutter their services, while some others have geofenced U.S. customers.

Presently, there have been efforts from lawmakers in the U.S. to propose bills regarding digital currencies. In January 2020, lawmakers introduced the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2020, seeking tax exemption for smaller crypto transactions.

Also, the Token Taxonomy Act before the U.S. Congress seeks to exempt virtual currencies from securities laws.