TechFlow news: U.S. lawmakers debated a proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that could bring payment apps such as PayPal and Venmo under regulatory oversight, with implications for cryptocurrency.
During a congressional hearing, several House Republicans criticized the CFPB for moving ahead of Congress on cryptocurrency legislation and questioned whether the agency has the authority to regulate the crypto industry.
Some Democratic members of Congress argued that CFPB oversight is necessary due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies. They noted that many cryptocurrencies introduced in recent years have since "disappeared," resulting in lost investments for consumers.
The debate centered on a proposed rule titled "Defining Larger Participants of the General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Application Market," first introduced in November last year. The rule would grant the CFPB supervisory authority over "larger nonbank companies" and require nonbank financial firms processing more than five million transactions annually to follow the same rules as large banks and credit unions.
