Discussion of cryptocurrency and big tech companies attending due diligence hearings

“The point of crypto is that there is real decentralization – the successful projects will be the projects that get them,” said Brian Brooks.

Blaine Luetkemeyer, Representative for the Missouri House of Representatives, reiterated the problem of large corporations’ control over large swaths of the web and raised concerns about the penetration into crypto space.

Speaking at Wednesday’s digital assets hearing with the House Committee on Financial Services, Luetkemeyer told Bitfury CEO and former currency control officer Brian Brooks that listed companies like Instagram, Facebook – now Meta – and Twitter are “getting people on.” control their platforms. “Lütkemeyer asked whether this level of control could also have an inappropriate influence on the implementation of the digital dollar.

“The point about crypto is that there is real decentralization,” Brooks said. “The successful projects will be the ones that get there. Bitcoin has been successful because there are literally millions of people participating in the node network and there is no Twitter CEO to take you down, no JPMorgan CEO to take your credit card. “

Bitfury CEO added that he believes that companies that fail to meet this standard will be relegated to the “ashes of history” – that is, lost in relevance and largely forgotten. In his written statement to the committee, Brooks suggested that a decentralized Internet was better “than a World Wide Web largely controlled by five large corporations”:

“The cryptocurrency policy must not only take into account all new risks that are introduced into the system, but also those in the existing system that are addressed through decentralization.”

Related: In its latest quarterly review, the Bank for International Settlements describes the rise in decentralized financing as an “illusion”

For the many legislators present Digital assets and the future of finance heard, the goal seems to be to gain a better understanding of the current space than how they can provide a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the future. Six CEOs from Circle, Paxos, Coinbase Inc., Stellar Progress Basis, FTX and Bitfury in attendance asked questions including questions about ransomware attacks, quantum computing and price volatility.

This story continues to evolve and can be updated as the House committee hearing is pending.