• Senator Cynthia Lummis and Congressman Patrick McHenry provided updates on digital asset legislation at Consensus 2023, with the latter claiming President Biden will have signed a bill into law in 12 months.
• The next installment of Lummis’s Responsible Financial Innovation Act is expected to be presented before the Senate within 6-8 weeks, with strengthened sections pertaining to protecting national security and tackling cybercrime.
• The bill is designed to bring regulatory clarity across many areas of the digital asset industry, including the classification of cryptocurrencies as either securities or commodities.
Digital Asset Regulation Update at Consensus 2023
Senator Cynthia Lummis and Congressman Patrick McHenry provided updates on digital asset legislation at Consensus 2023. The former believes President Biden will have signed a bill into law directly forming rules around cryptocurrency within the next 12 months.
The Responsible Financial Innovation Act
The next installment of Lummis’s Responsible Financial Innovation Act is expected to be presented before the Senate within 6-8 weeks. This legislation has been co-authored alongside fellow Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and is designed to bring regulatory clarity across many areas of the digital asset industry, including the classification of cryptocurrencies as either securities or commodities. Unlike its first draft published in June, however, this bill will include strengthened sections pertaining to protecting national security and tackling cybercrime.
McHenry’s Optimism
Congressman McHenry expressed optimism that President Biden would sign a crypto regulation bill into law within 12 months. He claimed that progress had been made in both chambers of Congress when it came to pushing forward such legislative measures related to digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
Lummis‘ Clarification
Senator Lummis started off by clarifying that this new version of her financial innovation act would present regulations that are more comprehensive than those previously proposed by her team back in June 2020. She also noted that this version would incorporate stronger sections for protecting national security and preventing cybercrime-related activities involving cryptocurrency use cases.
Conclusion
It appears both policymakers remain optimistic about future prospects for bringing federal regulation for digital assets into effect – particularly with regards to how they can be classified under existing laws governing financial markets activity. With their continued efforts towards introducing clear guidelines regarding crypto usage among consumers – especially when considering how they interact with other traditional banking services – it may only be a matter of time until we see some meaningful progress being made here in terms of creating an effective legal framework for using cryptocurrencies safely and securely in everyday life