At a glance.
- US House passes stablecoin transparency bill.
- Cybersecurity policy in international trade treaties.
US House passes stablecoin transparency bill.
Elliptic Connect reports that the US House of Representatives has passed the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, a bill aimed at creating a regulatory framework for asset-backed stablecoins issued by US entities. The goal of the measure is to prioritize technological innovation while maximizing consumer protection. Provisions in the legislation call for increased transparency when it comes to disclosure of assets held as reserves for the regulated coins. By establishing appropriate audit standards, consumer confidence in the product will increase. As well, the bill mandates significant controls related to liquidity, capital requirements, and risk management processes, with the goal of better-protecting consumers and decreasing the financial crime risk that is prevalent in digital currency environments. The writer states, “While challenges still remain with regard to passing the bill through the Senate, there is now a clearer path than ever toward creating regulatory clarity related to the issuance of stablecoins.” If passed, the hope is that cross-border functional dollar tokens will be created by good actors and a broader blockchain infrastructure can flourish in the finance sector.
In related digital currency news stateside, the Bank Policy Institute has voiced its endorsement of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Richard Heart and the companies Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX, with offering unregistered securities and defrauding investors by spending their investment on “luxury goods.”
Cybersecurity policy in international trade treaties.
CR2, a nonprofit promoting cybersecurity risk management, examines the cybersecurity elements present in the world’s most prominent international trade agreements. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), established in 2018, was the first multilateral trade agreement to include cybersecurity principles, and since then agreements like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Singapore-Australia Digital Agreement, and the New Zealand-UK Free Trade Agreement have followed suit. All of the agreements discussed support government capacity building to strengthen the security and resiliency of international trade, as well as international operational collaboration, taking into account other countries' cybersecurity regulations and guidelines. Other principles include establishing a cyber-trade link to increase confidence in digital trade, collaboration on workforce development, and promoting the adoption of risk-based frameworks in industry. Going forward, CR2 recommends that agreements include coordinated vulnerability disclosure programs. The report explains, “These are voluntary processes that communicate the disclosure and receipt of a discovered vulnerability to those affected. Building the necessary governmental capacities to support a coordinated vulnerability disclosure program and encouraging the inclusion of such programs in international trade agreements is a good way to promote better cybersecurity management.”