Congress should look for ways to regulate digital assets while protecting consumers, CUNA wrote to the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday. The committee conducted a hearing on the benefits and challenges of digital assets.

“Furthermore, Congress should look for ways enable credit unions and other financial institution to provide digital asset related services, so that these services can be properly overseen by regulators,” the letter adds.

CUNA fears cryptocurrency and blockchain based financial platforms are creating an unregulated financial sector that could have major repercussions to the economy.

“[C]redit unions are highly regulated in their operation and credit union members are protected by a plethora of consumer protection laws. The crypto and digital currency sectors operate largely outside of the traditional financial safeguards and generally without financial intermediaries where the role of stabilizer and protector generally rest,” the letter reads.

“Unfortunately, when there is no financial intermediary, the functions that they provide also are lost. One only has to look no further than lost access,” it adds.