As the United States House of Representatives prepares for a floor vote on May 22, many lawmakers are showing their support for a bill that aims to clarify the roles of the country’s financial regulators when it comes to digital assets.
Representative Wiley Nickel took to the House floor on May 21 to urge his fellow lawmakers to back the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act. This bill would provide clarity on how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulate cryptocurrencies and would help prevent incidents like the recent FTX controversy.
Nickel highlighted that Congress has never voted on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, and the industry is currently operating under outdated securities laws from a century ago.
Nickel specifically called on both Democrats and Republicans to vote in favor of the FIT21 bill, emphasizing that it was developed with bipartisan support. While there were reports suggesting that Democratic leadership was opposed to the crypto bill, it was noted that they would not actively discourage their members from voting for it. Additionally, sources familiar with the matter claimed that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would also support FIT21.
If passed, the FIT21 bill would limit the SEC’s authority to regulate cryptocurrencies using what many consider to be an overly aggressive enforcement approach. The commission has previously filed lawsuits against several crypto companies, such as Ripple, Kraken, Coinbase, Binance, and individuals associated with them.
The House Committee on Rules is scheduled to discuss the FIT21 bill, also known as H.R. 4763, at 4:00 pm ET on May 21. A full floor vote is expected to take place the following day. This vote comes after both the House and Senate passed one of the first crypto-focused pieces of legislation, which aims to overturn an SEC rule requiring banks to hold customers’ digital assets on their balance sheets with capital reserves. President Biden has expressed his intention to veto this resolution.
In related news, US enforcement agencies are intensifying their efforts to combat crypto-related crimes.