Colorado House Representative Jared Polis (D), the founder of the US Congressional Blockchain Caucus, sent a petition to the House Ethics Committee earlier this week. In the petition, he argues that cryptocurrency holdings should be subject to the same financial disclosure requirements as other assets.

Polis wrote:

“Members of Congress and covered employees are already required to report certain asset holdings over certain amounts, including reporting any commodities holding over $1,000, a Member or covered employee should report any virtual currency holding as they would report any other commodity, such as gold,”

In the US, cryptocurrency assets of specific substance are already subject to regulations governing commodities, securities, and property. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have already provided investors with regulatory guidance surrounding cryptocurrency assets.

The proposed disclosure requirements will ensure that US lawmakers are not trading on non-public information. The lawmaker hopes to prevent abuses seen in other parts of the world.

Just last month in South Korea, several financial regulators invested heavily in cryptocurrency and then sold prior to the government’s announcement of regulations involving cryptocurrency exchanges.

A similar financial disclosure policy revealed that several Ukrainian lawmakers held a combined $47 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC).

Polis and Arizona House Representative David Schweikert (R) introduced the Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act, a bill that wants to eliminate reporting requirements for cryptocurrency transactions worth less than $600. Providing some much-needed protection for US residents who don’t have significant holdings.