Even Republicans support cryptocurrency regulation

Bitcoin is testing politicians of all countries. According to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Bart Chilton, even members of a US political party known to oppose regulation support the idea that the cryptocurrency market needs oversight.

In his role at the CFTC, Chilton was known as an anti-fraud fighter. He was one of the first regulators to publicly address the potential need to regulate Bitcoin. In fact, Chilton began considering the need for government oversight back in 2013. Just a year after its life ended, the CFTC officially recognized Bitcoin as a commodity.

While regulation is seen by many as a negative, commodity status helped Bitcoin enter the futures market, which gave it more popularity and appeal.

Now Bart Chilton, a Democrat, is watching as members of the Republican Party begin to see his point. While some Republicans have recommended that regulators "stay away" from cryptocurrencies (like Ron Paul, R-Texas), some, including South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, have spoken publicly about the benefits of regulation.

In an in-depth interview with Coindesk, Chilton discussed how the price of Bitcoin and market capitalization value have influenced this ideological shift.

The Magic Number

The main reason why Republicans have begun to worry about cryptocurrency, Chilton counts a single number: $20,000. This number was reached in December and it was this that forced them to reconsider their positions. Until this point, many policymakers treated the Bitcoin issue as a minor issue. 

“I think it was when Bitcoin hit $20,000 that people started to realize, “Something is going on here. We should pay attention to this." Many politicians are beginning to deepen their knowledge of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In February 2018, the Senate held its first hearing on cryptocurrencies. Two weeks after this hearing, Republican sentiment on the issue of cryptocurrencies began to change slightly." - says Chilton.

Who regulates whom?

Despite the fact that Republicans are increasingly beginning to support the idea of ​​regulation, it is still not entirely clear what this regulation will look like. 

In the early years of Bitcoin, its users liked to describe it as “unregulated,” and in a sense they were right.. However, now more and more people are of the opinion that regulators are necessary for the safety of consumers and the further development of the market. 

However, after the Senate hearing, it became clear that there is still confusion within the government about which government agency has the authority to oversee such a market.

Chilton believes that regardless of the government's choice, any cryptocurrency startups should be as open as possible with regulators and do everything possible to comply with the rules they believe apply to a given business model.

In an effort to help, Chilton became advisor to a startup called Omega One, hosted on the Ethereum platform. The company is part of a new wave of startups that are taking proactive measures to satisfy regulators.

According to https://www.coindesk.com