Bitcoin continued its bear run in Monday trading as U.S. regulators prepared to call on Congress for more oversight and new regulations on cryptocurrency markets.

The regulation call is set to come from Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who are scheduled to appear before the Senate banking committee on Tuesday. According to prepared testimony released Monday, Giancarlo and Clayton will tell the committee that the current patchwork of rules for cryptocurrency exchanges may need to be reviewed in favor of a rationalized federal framework.

According to Reuters, the hearing will “largely be a fact-finding exercise focusing on the powers of the SEC and CFTC to oversee cryptocurrency exchanges, how the watchdogs can protect investors from volatility and fraud and the risks posed by cybercriminals intent on stealing digital tokens.”

Existing regulations covering the cryptocurrency market are a mix of state and federal laws described as a “jurisdictional gray area between the SEC, CFTC, the Treasury Department and state regulators.”

Giancarlo’s testimony also detailed what he refers to as “shortcomings” in the existing licensing system, which involves each state issuing money transmission licenses to businesses.

“As … policy-makers consider the current state of regulatory oversight of cash or ‘spot’ transactions in virtual currencies and trading platforms, consideration should be given to shortcomings of the current approach of state-by-state money transmitter licensure that leaves gaps in protection for virtual currency traders and investors,” Giancarlo wrote.

Both the SEC and CFTC have previously been active in cryptocurrency oversight. The SEC has taken action against a number of dubious initial coin offerings, including shutting down a $600 million alleged scam ICO AriseBank Jan. 30. The CFTC has given approval to a number of cryptocurrency-related offerings, including CME Group bitcoin futures and LedgerX bitcoin options.

The plans for more oversight follow a string of negative news that has continued to drive down the price of bitcoin. Major banks in both the U.S. and U.K. banned the use of credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies. That’s on top of a cryptocurrency ban in India, an SEC investigation into leading bitcoin exchange Bitfinex and related company Tether, and a ban on all cryptocurrency advertising on Facebook.

Bitcoin was trading at $6,363.97 as of 9:30 p.m. EST, down from $7,968.33 24 hours ago and its lowest price since Nov. 15.

Image: SEC/Wikimedia Commons