Rep. Casten: Cryptocurrencies are gambling

Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony on Capitol Hill, calls to boost competition within the U.S. economy, cryptocurrencies and the need for government to provide a social safety net.

Blockstack began selling regulated digital coins on Thursday morning, one day after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted approval for the blockchain startup to hold one of the first offerings of its kind.

Continue Reading Below

Officials approved the $28 million offering through Regulation A+, a provision which allows companies to pursue early funding without submitting to the full disclosure requirements and steep costs of an initial public offering. Blockstack’s public offering essentially functions as a regulated form of an initial coin offering, a popular fundraising mechanism for cryptocurrency startups that drew the SEC’s ire in recent years.

MORE ON THIS