U.S. lawmakers debate whether cryptocurrencies should be part of CFPB’s proposed rules

U.S. lawmakers are debating new regulations proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that could bring payment apps such as PayPal and Venmo under the regulatory umbrella and involve cryptocurrencies. During a congressional hearing, some House Republicans accused the CFPB of getting ahead of congressional efforts to legislate cryptocurrencies and asked witnesses whether the agency has the authority to regulate the cryptocurrency industry. Some Democratic House members said the CFPB’s regulation of cryptocurrencies is necessary given their volatility. They said many cryptocurrencies launched over the past few years have "disappeared," causing people to lose their investments. At the center of the debate is a proposed regulation titled "Defining Larger Players in the Market for General Purpose Digital Consumer Payment Applications," which was first proposed in November. The rule would give the CFPB the ability to oversee "larger nonbank companies" and require nonbank financial companies that handle more than five million transactions per year to follow the same rules as large banks and credit unions.