Report: Chamber of Digital Commerce to advocate for bitcoin regulation

Speaking at the North American Bitcoin Conference (NABC) on Satuday, Forbes columnist and former congressional staffer Perianne Boring announced plans to create a “Chamber of Digital Commerce” to advocate for sensible bitcoin regulations at the federal level. The move follows the initiation of pro-cryptocurrency lobbying efforts by Falcon Global Capital in May, and a more recent initiative by the Bitcoin Foundation.

The idea of powerful, pro-bitcoin lobbying group has gained considerable attention in recent weeks, following the release of a draft version of regulations from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFN). Boring called the rules “heavy handed,” and explained that a digital currency lobby could help prevent legacy regulations from being imposed on bitcoin. With no clear roadmap in Washington for handling bitcoin-like systems, such a lobby would need to have a strong voice in shaping the first national-level cryptocurrency rules. As Boring said:

I believe that the legislation that comes out of Washington will be echoed around the world.”

Boring was also quick to note that the Chamber of Digital Commerce is in no way related to the Bitcoin Foundation. According to a report on Coin Telegraph, Boring told the crowd that she originally approached the foundation with her ideas, and decided to launch a new initiative after having her pitch rejected. One reason to distance the new organization from the Bitcoin Foundation is growing community concern over a lack of transparency, the reason cited by noted bitcoin advocate Andreas Antonopoulos after his resignation from the foundation earlier this month.

According to the CoinDesk report, the Chamber of Digital Commerce will raise $120,000 in an initial funding around, with an annual budget goal of $1.5 million. The report also claims that spending transparency will be one of the organization’s highest priorities.