According to TechFlow, Patrick T. McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and a dozen Republican lawmakers wrote to SEC Chairman Gensler, hoping that the agency would hand over documents related to the license of digital asset company Prometheum. The company first obtained a special broker-dealer license approved by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FIRA), which is regulated by the SEC, in May, allowing them to custody digital asset securities.

McHenry believes that the timing of the approval of Prometheum’s license raises “serious questions” as they work on legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. A week before the Prometheum license was approved, the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee held hearings to discuss their plans to introduce cryptocurrency regulation bills. “The timing of the approval raises concerns that it is intended to demonstrate that legislation is not needed because there is a workable regulatory framework for the custody of digital asset securities,” he said.

McHenry gave FINRA and the SEC until August 22 to respond.