This week in Washington, D.C. at the DC Blockchain Summit, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov joined U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer to discuss the new administration’s push to drive global blockchain and digital asset adoption.
Emmer believes web3 innovation should be as nonpartisan as building the internet.
“We need to be the leaders in the digital space the same way in the next iteration of the web,” he said. “It will give us another amazing opportunity to grow our economy and raise the boats of everyone.”
To become a dominant force in web3, Emmer said the U.S. must move quickly to clearly define a regulatory environment that fosters cutting-edge advancements.
“We need all that innovation, all those risk-takers and creators in this country – that’s the definition of success,” he explained. “You don’t need an administration that is telling them they’re criminals.”
Calling on his experience working with the DeFi community and traditional financial institutions, Nazarov agreed. “I find that both groups are equally eager to comply once they know how to comply.”
“Government should not be here to protect dinosaurs from ever having to evolve, but it is up to Congress to establish the rules so that people can rely on those rules,” added Emmer. “Going forward, it’s all about making sure that you have certainty and predictability in the system.”
Both men attended the first White House Crypto Summit earlier this month, where the President and top government officials expressed support for stablecoin and market structure legislation following an executive order to institute a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Emmer expects both the stablecoin bill and market structure bill will be completed before August recess.
Next on the agenda is the prohibition of a central bank digital currency. “Because you really can’t have the federal government creating what is, in essence, a potential surveillance tool,” Emmer explained.
Other immediate regulatory concerns involve determining which digital assets are considered U.S. securities and which entities qualify as money transmitters.
Underscoring Congress’ coordination with the President and White House officials such as AI and crypto czar, David Sacks, and Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, Bo Hines, Emmer affirmed, “You have a completely new day in America.”
While initial stablecoin and market structure bills won’t be “absolutely perfect” out of the gate, he emphasized the importance of building the foundation for continuing America’s global leadership role onchain.
“We need this innovation, this development happening right here in the United States and it starts with setting the ground rules that you’re going to get out of these two bills.”
Watch the full conversation.