Virginia’s reputation as a technology hub now extends far beyond Northern Virginia’s “data center array.” Across the commonwealth, digital assets and blockchain technology are transforming the way we bank, do business, and govern, and Virginians are embracing these innovations as they touch nearly every aspect of their daily lives.
Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Bank is a Bitcoin ATM pioneer, and a new law in Virginia allows banks to offer cryptocurrency custody services. Farmers are using blockchain to streamline supply chains and maximize yields, and Shenandoah Valley vineyards are also using technology to manage weather data and improve operations. Fairfax County is committed to making major investments in digital assets for workplace retirement plans.
As digital assets and blockchain technology become integrated into the financial lives of more Virginians, the stakes to protect everyday investors are higher than ever. Congress, including Sen. Mark Warner on the Senate Banking Committee, is currently considering a virtual currency market structure bill that would bring clear rules for digital assets. Lawmakers need to realize that this is not just about legitimizing nascent technology. Rather, it should be about protecting the dreams and safety of Virginia families and small businesses who embrace and invest in virtual currency and blockchain technology, but who have limited understanding of the technology itself, let alone its risks.
For investors to thrive, they need to ensure reforms that increase trust and transparency, rather than maintaining uncertainty that could lead to a 2008-2009 scenario where excessive leverage and financial engineering take hold and compromise the financial system. But the current bill gives special exemptions to digital asset developers, allowing them to bypass many of the responsible regulations that have protected ordinary Americans making traditional investments for generations. Congress must reject this approach and ensure transparency and safeguards for digital assets.
If Congress moves quickly, it could create a “shadow market” that attracts fraud, manipulation, and financial crime, putting Virginia’s hardworking families, small businesses, retiree savings, retirement accounts, and college funds at unnecessary risk.
When protections disappear or are not maintained at all, working families pay the price and recovery takes years. History has shown us what happens when we get this wrong. The collapse of FTX wiped out billions in consumer assets and caused lasting disruption across the economy, which is still being addressed. Closer to home, the Fairfax County Employees’ Pension Fund, which at one time had more than 10% of its assets in cryptocurrencies, was exposed to significant losses when crypto company Genesis Global Holdco filed for bankruptcy in 2023, putting pensioners’ retirement security at unnecessary risk.
If we do it right, Congress can modernize our markets and strengthen the very innovation and opportunity we need to succeed. This means taking responsible safeguards such as registration requirements, anti-fraud protections, best execution standards, and safeguards to limit volatility and manipulation to ensure that new technologies remain on a foundation of trust, fairness, and transparency. These are not obstacles to innovation. They are what sustain innovation.
In Virginia and beyond, people are working long hours, saving as much as they can, and investing in their futures. They should know that their savings and retirement are safe no matter how the market evolves, and retirees shouldn’t lose sleep over thinking their nest egg will disappear because Congress moved too quickly and ignored important protections.
The United States can and should lead the world in digital finance, but true leadership is built on trust, not cutting corners. By putting investors first, Congress can help families and communities confidently participate in the next generation of financial innovation without fear of being left behind or taken advantage of.
With a track record of success and technology leadership, Virginia is poised to set the standard for financial innovation, but only if Congress takes a wise and prudent approach with strong investor protections and a financial system that works for everyone.
Jamie Cox is a managing partner at Harris Financial Group, with offices in Richmond and Roanoke.
