Coin Center to testify at two separate Congressional hearings on Bitcoin this Thursday.

Government interest in digital currencies and open blockchain networks such as Bitcoin continues to mount, as evidenced by the unusual circumstance that two different Congressional committees are holding hearings about the technology at exactly the same time. Coin Center will be testifying in both hearings and they will be live streamed.

First will be a hearing entitled “Virtual Currency: Financial Innovation and National Security Implications” in the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. This follows a full-member briefing Coin Center put on last week on the topic, and our executive director Jerry Brito will be testifying. It starts at 10 a.m. You’ll be able to watch at this link.

The second is a hearing entitled “Improving Consumer’s Financial Options With FinTech” in the Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Coin Center research director Peter Van Valkenburgh will be testifying. It will start at 10 a.m. as well and his testimony is to be focused on the barriers to innovation that cumbersome state regulation presents. You’ll be able to watch at this link.

Not only are concurrent hearings on the same topic not typical, but it’s also unusual to have two persons from the same organization invited to testify at the same time by two separate committees. It’s a testament to Coin Center’s hard work over the past few years laying a foundation of credibility on Capitol Hill.