Bloomberg: Insufficient regulatory power and resources may prevent US crypto legislation from achieving its intended effect.

A recent commentary by the Bloomberg editorial board argues that while the U.S. Congress is pushing for a clearer legal framework for digital assets, attempting to support technological innovation while strengthening constraints on illegal activities, this legislative process is unlikely to achieve its intended effect given the current weakened power of regulatory agencies and significant shortages of enforcement resources. The article points out that the Genius Act, related to stablecoin regulation, disperses many core responsibilities among different regulatory bodies. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which plays a key role, has seen its enforcement capabilities significantly limited after layoffs and cybersecurity incidents. Meanwhile, the Clarity Act proposes to adjust the division of regulatory responsibilities, weakening the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and bringing most tokens under the regulation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). However, the CFTC's budget is only a fraction of the SEC's, and its human and enforcement resources have long been strained. Furthermore, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which previously handled consumer complaints in the crypto space, has had its functions significantly reduced, further weakening the integrity of the overall regulatory network. Bloomberg believes that pushing for wider public and institutional investment in crypto assets in the context of incomplete regulatory capacity may be counterproductive. If fraud and illegal activities continue to be exposed, market confidence and industry development may be negatively impacted. The article suggests establishing a unified regulatory framework for the trading of difficult-to-classify digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, with the SEC and CFTC jointly developing rules to strengthen market stability, information disclosure, and investor protection. The commentary concludes by warning that the crypto market will remain in a state of "at your own risk" for a long time until Congress truly provides regulators with sufficient authority, expertise, and resources. (Bloomberg)