Instead, the act would create a new federal license for “payment stablecoin issuers” managed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – the agency charged with regulating traditional banks and savings institutions. 

Toomey is bullish on the potential for stablecoins to transform existing, real-world financial transactions. 

“By digitizing the U.S. dollar and making it available on a global, instant and nearly free-cost basis, stablecoins would be widely used across the physical economy in a variety of ways,” he said in the latest release, echoing his vision for the bill introduced in April, in which he noted that “while today stablecoins facilitate trading with cryptocurrencies, tomorrow stablecoins could be widely used in the physical economy.” 

For issuers, the act would standardize public disclosure requirements, including what is being used to back the stablecoin – which must be “high-quality liquid assets.” 

For holders, privacy would be tantamount, excluding “new technologies like digital assets” from Bank Secrecy Act requirements and asserting that “private transactions not involving an intermediary or a financial institution do not need to be reported.” 

While Senator Toomey joined the rally cry of lawmakers calling for crypto regulation in the wake of the FTX collapse, he warned his colleagues in Congress that the disaster was not due to the fact that cryptocurrency was involved, but because those digital assets were poorly – or fraudulently – handled. 

“The wrongful behavior that occurred here is not specific to the underlying asset; what appears to have happened here is a complete breakdown in the handling of those assets,” he said in prepared remarks. “In our discussion of FTX today, I hope we are able to separate potentially illegal actions from perfectly lawful and innovative cryptocurrencies.” 

Sen. Toomey has also been critical of SEC commissioner Gary Gensler, recently disagreeing with the regulator’s assertion that cryptocurrencies are securities. He has also introduced and cosponsored other crypto bills, such as the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act. 

The senator announced his retirement from Congress in October 2020.

Peer-To-Peer Crypto Marketplace Paxful Removes ETH From Platform

Peer-to-peer crypto marketplace Paxful has removed Ether (ETH), Ethereum’s native token, from its marketplace, citing three major concerns with the digital asset. 

Paxful CEO Ray Youssef announced the move stating, “Revenue is nice, but integrity trumps all.” 

THe first major concern highlighted by Youssef is Ethereum’s switch from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Youssef reasoned that PoW is the “innovation that makes Bitcoin the only honest money there is” and that Ethereum’s transition to PoS has turned ETH into a “digital form of fiat.” 

The second major concern is the relative centralization of the Ethereum blockchain. He stated that ETH is “controlled by a small number of people” and that one day we will “need permission to use it.” 

The third major concern cited by Youssef is the prevalence of scams in the Ethereum blockchain that “have robbed people of billions.” 

Responding to questions on Twitter, Youssef said Paxful will continue offering trade in stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USD coin (USDC), but didn’t seem too enthusiastic about it. 

Paxful is a peer-to-peer marketplace that is popular in Africa, a region Youssef believes will see mass adoption of bitcoin due to its financial inclusionary potential. 

“In short, our industry is under attack right now, which means our responsibility to protect our users is greater than ever before,” concluded Youssef.