Thursday, February 8, 2018

US Lawmaker Calls For Congress To Disclose Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency Holdings

Representative Jared Polis (D-Colo.) is asking the House Committee on Ethics to require members of Congress to disclose any Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency they hold, in an attempt to close a loophole in the ethics rules for Congress. According to Polis, currently, the House Ethics Committee does not have any official guidance for Members of Congress to disclose their virtual currency holdings. Those disclosure rules--meant to bring to light conflicts of interest, potential influence peddling, or other financial transactions which might influence Congressional business--currently do not address Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency. Polis is asking that Congress also be required to report any virtual currency holdings, as they might have to disclose gold or other commodities. Polis also said the purchase should include virtual currency issued as apart of an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). Polis--perhaps, the most tech-savvy lawmaker in the House--is uniquely positioned to understand the issues behind cryptocurrency, having been both a successful entrepreneur (Proflowers.com, Blue Mountain, American Information Systems) as well as having gotten his start as a software engineer. Polis was first elected to represent Colorado's Second Congressional District in 2008.