Stablecoin-utgivare spenderar miljoner på att lobbya lagstiftare
- Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire recently emphasized the significance of stablecoin regulation and secure access to digital assets.
- Binance och Coinbase har spenderat mer än $6 miljoner tillsammans på lobbyverksamhet.
- Amerikanska tillsynsmyndigheter har mött ett ökat tryck att rulla ut en regleringsstruktur för digitala tillgångar.
Stablecoin-emittenter har enligt uppgift spenderat miljontals dollar på att lobbya amerikanska lagstiftare under det senaste året. När amerikanska lagstiftare har återupptagit konversationer om att reglera kryptovalutor, har två betydande utgivare av stablecoin, Tjudra (USDT) och Circle (USDC), har hällt mer än en miljon dollar mellan dem. Records sammanställda av ProPublica show that Tether pays FTI Government Affairs $120,000 quarterly to advocate for stablecoin-related legislation. The company has spent around $600,000 since early 2022.
Tether’s USDT has a market share of 63% and an $83 billion market cap. Open Secrets, a government transparency group, claims Tether spent around $270,000 during the first quarter of 2023 to lobby lawmakers.
A Tether spokesperson explained that “Tether believes it is crucial to contribute to the development of a transparent and balanced regulatory framework that fosters innovation while ensuring consumer protection and market integrity.”
Interestingly, Tether’s rival, Circle, has been paying DC-based Invariant approximately $100,000 every quarter to educate Capitol Hill legislators on stablecoin and cryptocurrency concerns and to keep track of relevant proposals. The stablecoin issuer has spent at least $560,000 since 2021.
Circle has reportedly lobbied the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Senate, the Treasury, the House of Representatives, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Circle’s USDC currently ranks as the second-largest stablecoin with a market share of 22.6% and $29.5 billion in circulation.
Andra stablecoin-utgivare, som Paxos, företaget bakom Binance stablecoin BUSD, har investerat nästan $300 000 i lobbyverksamhet. Men de medel som spenderas av dessa stablecoin-utgivare bleknar i jämförelse med de som spenderas av kryptobörser som Binance och Coinbase. Binance har spenderat mer än $1 miljoner sedan början av 2022 på lobbyverksamhet, medan Coinbase har spenderat mer än $5 miljoner sedan 2015.