Jay Clayton, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said: "We may be back with our friends from the U.S. Treasury and the Fed to ask for additional legislation." at a U.S. Senate hearing on cryptocurrencies today.
Responding to one of several questions about whether his agency has enough authority over the cryptocurrency market.
A meeting of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which was conducted at 10 a.m. today, however, saw participation from another notable regulator as well, U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission chair J. Christopher Giancarlo, who also addressed the topic in remarks.
Both Clayton and Giancarlo indicated that such a move may not be immediately required, even despite growing concerns about the state of the technology and the potential harm that may come to under-educated U.S. consumers who participate in the cryptocurrency market.
"I can't give a definitive answer," Clayton said when asked directly.
Such comments were colored by the questions of senators assembled, which mentioned a flurry of negative news that has brought down the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, including the recent hack on the Japan-based CoinCheck exchange, and the volatility that has seen the asset class decline by nearly $500 billion in January alone.
Senator Sherrod Brown said; "Sometimes it seems that scam artists and hackers know more about the technology than most market participants which, should concern all of us."
Perhaps Giancarlo gave the most positive tone, pointing out the work his agency has already done within the context of existing U.S. law to protect our citizens. This, he said, has included the creation of an innovation lab focused in part on the blockchain, and the newly launched U.S. futures markets, which operate under its watchful eye.
Despite the moves, however, Giancarlo acknowledged the Commodities Futures Trading Commission is naturally limited due to the fact that the cryptocurrency markets operate globally.
Clayton, too, commented on this aspect of the market. In response to a question about the nature of the market's structure, he remarked: "The international nature of this market is why the patchwork is not sufficient.”
Today the cryptocurrency market cap dropped to $276 billion, its lowest point since November and a mark that Bitcoin itself was valued above as recently as early January.
However, the cryptocurrency markets began an upward trend and by 3:00 UTC the markets had recovered past the $300 billion threshold to a present value of $368 billion.
What is the future of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market?
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