Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following statement at a Subcommittee hearing on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion entitled, “The Future of Digital Assets: Identifying the Regulatory Gaps in Digital Asset Market Structure."

Last week, I questioned SEC’s Chair Gensler if the agency has the authority it needs to bring crypto companies and exchanges into compliance with our securities laws, which have served investors and the markets for the past 90 years. His response was unequivocally yes, and the SEC’s success in the courts proves his point.

Despite what those across the aisle may say, we do not need to create an entirely new and special framework for crypto—we already have one. Rather, crypto firms, like other tech companies before them, must recognize that they are not exceptional; they need to comply with the laws of the land. To the extent there are actual gaps in our laws, such as limitations on the SEC’s reach overseas, we should focus on those, and not on creating more complexity through a whole new regulatory framework.

Thank you. I yield back.

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