BITCOIN has slipped from yesterday's high of $7,558 but all eyes are on Capitol Hill this afternoon as the US executive takes up the crypto challenge. Any move towards regulation could send prices soaring and one expert described the talks as a, "great step in the right direction".
Bitcoin price: Barry Silbert shuts down Bitcoin critics
8.30am MORNING HEADLINES
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, regulation, innovation and financial crime.
The Financial Policy Subcommittee hearing will examine "the extent to which the United States government should consider cryptocurrencies as money," while the House Committee on Agriculture will focus on the emergence of "digital assets".
Congress is set to "evaluate the merits of any uses by central banks of cryptocurrencies, and discuss the future of both cryptocurrencies and physical cash."
Guy Hirsch, US Managing Director of eToro, told Express.co.uk that “today’s hearings are a great step in the right direction."
He said: "We encourage regulators to hear more from good actors and companies with an international presence since they would be valuable to this discussion in Congress.
"Cryptocurrencies are by design global assets and companies with global perspective are uniquely positioned to help regulators better understand the diverse regulatory approaches and best practices.
"Any law that Congress will pass affecting cryptocurrencies will have global impact on foreign companies that are doing business in the US or want to enter the US market and therefore it is important for US lawmakers to facilitate dialogue with other nations on this matter."
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Hopefully we have a Bitcoin sign guy attending the Crypto talks at Congress today...
Please tell me we sent a sign guy???#CryptoCongress #AgOnCrypto
On the challenges for Congress he adds that digital assets have properties that don’t apply to our current understanding of securities or commodities.
He adds that while it makes sense to classify some tokens as securities, others are more accurately classified as currency or commodities, or perhaps a new asset class altogether.
He said: "Our industry should provide education and support for regulators to define a framework that will lead to logical and growth-oriented classification of each crypto.”
Got something to add? Send your reaction / thoughts / analysis / price predictions over to @DavidGDawkins.
Updates below throughout the day....
* Price & chart conversion through BTC
9.13am - Goldman Sachs set to board the BTC bus with new CEO
Bitcoin's continuing rise towards mainstream finance is set to continue with the appointment of a new CEO at Goldman Sachs, known to be more positive on cryptocurrencies.
Goldman Sachs announced this week that David Solomon will replace Lloyd Blankfein as CEO. Mr Blankfein took control in 2006 and led the company through a recession created in part by bulge-bracket banks in the late 2000s.
However, the outspoken chief was more watchful with his comments on all things crypto, claiming in June that if “it does work out, I could give you the historical path why that could have happened."
However, Mr Solomon has been positive on bitcoin and other cryptocurrency investment. In June he said it’s “arrogant” to think cryptocurrency won’t be successful.
Read the full report HERE.
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10.00am - Ripple is 'not a cryptocurrency' - expert warns on 'big dip' in value
Ripple’s remarkable journey from obscurity to $3.40. back down to today’s price of $0.49 could soon see it ring-fenced from other competing cryptocurrencies, with concern over its centralisation potentially excluding XRP from entry into a price boosting regulatory framework.
Anatoly Castella, CEO, Elpis Investments told Express.co.uk that ripple is set to miss out because it is not a "Digital Fiat", and not a “real” cryptocurrency.
Mr Castella warns that XRP falls short of the “purest interpretation of ‘cryptocurrency’.”
He said: “Ripple resembles a fintech platform combining the best elements of fiat money and blockchain cryptocurrency.
“It should be considered 'Digital Fiat', not a cryptocurrency.”
On the potential for missing out on the very regulations that go on to propel rival cryptocurrencies to all new price levels, Mr Castella says that the SEC should consider to creating a regulatory framework for ‘digital fiats' like ripple and a sustainable ecosystem for the “crypto startups”, currently “held in a state of limbo”.
He said: “This will ensure that ‘real’ cryptocurrencies like bitcoin will not be damaged and misunderstood by these start-ups adopting the wrong regulatory approach from the outset.”
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