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A new notice has been released stating that government officials in the United States who own cryptocurrencies are now banned from working on any regulation and policies that might have some sway on the value of the market.
The advisory notice, which was issued by the United States Office of Government Ethics earlier in the week noted that although there is an exemption in place, which lets owners of securities below a certain threshold work on policies related to the security, this is not the same case regarding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and stablecoins. As per the notice:
“Because cryptocurrency and stablecoins are not “publicly traded securities,” no de minimis exemption applies to these assets. As a result, an employee who holds any amount of a cryptocurrency or stablecoin may not participate in a particular matter if the employee knows that particular matter could have a direct and predictable effect on the value of their cryptocurrency or stablecoins.”
United States Office of Government Ethics crackdown on crypto
The rationale behind Office of Government Ethics’s rule is that an employee working on regulation with associated and vested interest will not be able to participate objectively on regulation. This applies to both cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, and the ruling remains in place even if the tokens were to be defined as a security. Any and all federal government employees will be governed under this ruling.
The exception to the ruling is that those working on regulations and policies are allowed to hold up to $50,000 USD in funds that invest in companies benefit from or operate with cryptocurrency and blockchain-based technology. This is because it’s not active investment in the cryptocurrency.
While the Office of Government Ethics’s ruling appears harsh and might seem to discourage private cryptocurrency ownership, the United States as a nation is not averse to cryptocurrency. The United States government, is woking to integrate the cryptocurrency industry with the traditional financial systems in place.