Katie Haun — a cryptocurrency investment manager at Andreessen Horowitz, and former federal prosecutor — asked regulators to do the ‘exact opposite’ of what China did when formulating ways to impose stricter regulations on the crypto industry.
Speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference, Haun said this is the United States’ golden opportunity to do the opposite of what China did. “We should be doing the exact opposite in my mind in this realm of what China is doing.”
Earlier this year, China created the digital yuan (e-CNY) — the country’s first digital currency expected to completely phase out physical currency in circulation. The People’s Bank of China will officially regulate the new digital currency.
China is currently running a pilot scheme test for the digital yuan across major cities of Suzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.
America on the right track with CBDCs
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can’t be trusted. No central authority such as a government or bank exists to regulate them. Plus they’re volatile. So, crypto enthusiasts agree China’s digital yuan is a great way of creating trust around virtual currencies.
Haun predicts China will initiate trades, give and take loans, and do everything in between using the digital yuan as a Stablecoin — a form of digital currency that derives value from a currency. “[China] will tie trades, tie loans, and tie other assistance to the use of their [new] stablecoin”.
Some critics hint that the timing of the digital yuan is deliberate. And designed to match the country’s renewed efforts to clamp down on cryptocurrency markets.
Haun hails the United States for taking the right approach on CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). “I’m glad [the US] is studying CBDCs”.
She said while the US takes great strides in learning CBDCs, it’s “really important that policymakers and private industry in the country work together [to make this happen]”.
Crypto industry players are not opposed to regulations
Haun also touched on the crypto regulatory debate, and vehemently dismissed that crypto industry players are opposing all regulations as a “myth.
She said the crypto industry wants digital currencies regulated as well. It wants clear rules, “but [the industry] also doesn’t want to be treated as a monolith”.
Haun gave an example of NFTs (or non-fungible tokens), which is a form of digital collectibles. She thinks NFTs shouldn’t be subjected to regulations as a financial product because regulations aren’t one-size-fits-all.
The former federal prosecutor also shared her disappointment with SEC chair, Gary Gensler, on reprimanding Coinbase as they tried “so hard” to be compliant.
Haun is also a Coinbase board member.
