Rep. Ritchie Torres said today that he would not support legislation that preempts NYDFS’ powers to regulate cryptocurrency or otherwise encroaches on New York’s sovereignty in regulating financial services. [Video here]. He made these comments today at the House Financial Services Committee hearing today on stablecoins, at which Superintendent Harris testified. Other takeaways from today’s hearing:
• Supt. Harris stated DFS did not license FTX, Voyager and Celsius because they did not meet DFS standards.
• She stated that DFS is the most rigorous crypto regulator in the country and in the world.
• Supt. Harris also voiced support for dual regulation of stablecoins modeled on current banking regulation, saying that while the federal government should establish a floor to preempt regulatory arbitrage, there should be no ceiling on state regulation.