Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., will serve as the inaugural chairman of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion
According to Hill, the new panel will be tasked with providing guidance to federal regulators who oversee the rapidly growing industry, as well as creating policies that will expand access to underserved communities.
After a year marked by the collapse of FTX, once the second-largest exchange in the world, calls for greater oversight of the digital asset industry have been increasing among lawmakers and regulators.
FTX's founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried was apprehended last month on charges of fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations, and has pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
Cryptocurrencies also plummeted across the board last year. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped below $20,000 by the end off 2022 and lost more than 60% of its value.
The events that led to the collapse of the exchange are not necessarily indicative of broader issues within the cryptocurrency market, but rather a failure to adequately regulate the operations of the exchange itself.