Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, released a discussion draft of legislation providing a statutory framework for digital asset regulation intended to provide clarity, fill regulatory gaps, and foster innovation, while providing adequate consumer protections.
“This discussion draft is the first step toward delivering on Republicans’ commitment to develop clear rules of the road for the digital asset ecosystem,” said Chairman McHenry. “Our goal is to strike the appropriate balance between consumer protection and encouraging responsible innovation. This is the product of an unprecedented joint effort between the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees, which gives us a better shot at striking that balance. I encourage stakeholders and market participants to provide constructive feedback to help us improve our legislation.”
#NEW: Chairman @PatrickMcHenry & @RepFrenchHill release a digital asset market structure proposal with @HouseAgGOP Chairman @CongressmanGT & @RepDustyJohnson in an unprecedented joint effort to provide clarity to the digital asset ecosystem.
— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) June 2, 2023
Read more:https://t.co/089dV2SYng pic.twitter.com/pSIIVjfslU
“For months, our committees have worked collaboratively to establish a viable regulatory framework for digital assets necessary to protect consumers and promote American innovation. The release of the discussion draft brings us one step closer to bringing regulatory certainty to these novel and emerging technologies,” said Chairman Thompson. “This historic joint effort with the House Committee on Financial Services aims to close existing authority gaps between the CFTC and SEC and bolster U.S. leadership in financial and technological innovation.”
“Legislation from Congress is needed to protect U.S. consumers and investors, as well as to preserve America’s role as a global leader in finance, technology, and innovation,” said Chairman of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, French Hill (AR-02). “The discussion draft from the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees represents a common approach to digital asset regulation that would bring existing consumer and investor protections to digital asset-related activities and intermediaries under the principle of ‘same risk, same regulation.’ We look forward to public feedback on this discussion draft.”
“There is a lot of confusion surrounding digital assets. Our bill establishes a functional framework to fill the gaps in the regulatory process between the CFTC and the SEC,” said Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development, Dusty Johnson (SD-AL). “This is not only beneficial for digital asset firms, but for consumers and digital asset owners. I’m grateful for the teamwork of the Ag and Financial Services Committee on this bill and to ensure America remains the leader in financial and technological innovation.”
More information on the discussion draft can be found out at the links below:
For text of the discussion draft, click here.
For a section-by-section summary, click here.
For a visual representation of a digital asset project lifecycle, click here.
Source: House Financial Services Committee
Justin Slaughter, policy director at research-driven technology investment firm Paradigm, said:
Overall, the McHenry-Thompson bill (which actually has no name yet) is a strong effort at crafting a comprehensive regulatory regime for crypto. pic.twitter.com/x6WnQ5PzJa
— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) June 4, 2023
The bill lays out a process for getting networks deemed decentralized but it is complicated. 4 https://t.co/gl1fMsvVvY
— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) June 4, 2023
The main outstanding questions I have are:
— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) June 4, 2023
– What part of this bill applies directly to DeFi?
– Can a network be deemed decentralized at launch?
– How will Democrats in Congress respond to it (they weren’t that involved in drafting it)?
6
This is, almost certainly, the bill with the best chance of becoming law before the 2024 presidential election scrambles the board. Even in its current form, it’s not everything the industry wants, and the SEC will likely oppose it, as they are now opposing all legislation.
8— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) June 4, 2023
The next step for the bill is stakeholder engagement – the authors will likely be seeking comments from industry participants, academics, non-profits, and even ordinary users.
— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) June 4, 2023
11
Anyway, thanks for reading and the kind remarks. It’s always a privilege to do this for the community, those of you that are pro, neutral, and anti crypto alike. 14
— Justin Slaughter (@JBSDC) June 4, 2023
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