The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Community
Affairs held a hearing on the state of cryptocurrency
and blockchain. The two invited witnesses were Coin Center Director
of Research Peter Van Valkenburgh and NYU Professor of Economics
Nouriel Roubini.
Mr. Van Valkenburgh lauded the benefits of decentralized computing
(i.e., blockchain) but criticized the surrounding
"hype." According to Mr. Van Valkenburgh, the terminology
used to describe blockchain is often "vague and
undefined," leading to an overall lack of public
understanding. In particular, he criticized the public perception
that blockchain is the "solution to any number of social,
economic, organizational, or cybersecurity problems." However,
Mr. Van Valkenburgh advocated for the continued exploration of
decentralized computing, and advised regulators to take a
"light-touch approach" in order to allow the technology
to develop "unfettered."
