Nine congressmen have signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking him to keep his horses.
Thursday’s letter is in response to the Treasury Department’s recent proposal to encourage registered crypto companies to get more customer information, especially when transacting with self-hosted wallets.
The proposal was received with great indignation by the crypto community. Among the complaints, many cite the fact that Mnuchin is imposing this rule on Joe Biden, and thus his likely successor, Janet Yellen, just weeks before Joe Biden takes office.
In addition to new rule proposals, there are invitations for public statements. This still applies in this case, but while the usual comment period is 60 days, the Ministry of Finance has only requested 15 days here. The comment period expires on Monday. This is the point that the signatories of yesterday’s letter are fighting:
“The proposal in question was published just before the Christmas break and it was announced that the public would be allowed 15 days to submit comments. A comment period of eight business days over two public holidays is not and could be inappropriate for regulating an industry . ” lead to the fact that stakeholders are not able to react meaningfully. “
Congressmen who signed the letter include many of the usual suspects in crypto law. Blockchain Caucus members Warren Davidson, Tom Emmer, David Schweikert, Darren Soto and Ted Budd as well as AI caucus leader Bill Foster have all signed up. However, some less active figures in the crypto industry have joined, including Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Tom Cotton and the new leader of the New Democrat Coalition, Suzan DelBene.
Given that the formal deadline for open comments ends on Monday and today, as you may have noticed, is New Years Day, the Treasury Department is unlikely to step down. However, there is talk of a procedural violation lawsuit against the department should this rule come into effect.
