As it stands now, cryptocurrency regulation in the United States is at all-time high levels of uncertainty, with many companies looking for other nations to call home as a result.
This has largely been due to the SEC's approach of regulation by enforcement, which its own representatives have condemned, and a general lack of classification around emerging assets.
Like most politics in the U.S., party agendas can often slow growth and decision-making, with both sides looking to come out on top. However, one bipartisan bill, first introduced in June of 2022, by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand is hopefully the first step in real progress for the country.
In a March 8 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing surrounding the oversight of the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC), Senator Gillibrand asked the agency's chair, Rostin Behnam, for his thoughts on the previously drafted bipartisan framework.
He shared that the Senators had "carefully and thoughtfully considered all components of the market," which included considerations of stablecoins and cybersecurity.
Behnam added that "I think given what we experienced and what we saw with FTX, a premium on obvious segregation of assets, on customer conflicts of interest and ensuring that those conflicts are walled off very carefully, I think there are different questions that we probably have to ask in many respects concerning digital assets in light of cybersecurity, vendor risk, third-party service providers."
The previously submitted 69-page bill outlined everything from establishing definitions in the space to guidelines surrounding the taxation of digital assets. To the satisfaction of many crypto-focused businesses and consumers, this included taxation guidelines that would see transactions under $200 USD be tax-free.
It is hopeful that the bill can provide a complete regulatory framework for digital assets that encourage financial innovation, flexibility, transparency, and consumer protections — while integrating digital assets into existing law. Primarily the bipartisan bill aims at outlining clear definitions and classifications of emerging assets, as well as designating specific regulators for said assets, which at the time of writing would either be the CFTC or SEC.
Gillibrand shared that "our ambition is to make sure that there is a place to start a national conversation about a holistic approach to digital assets," adding, "to make sure that digital assets have the character of securities are regulated by the SEC, to have the assets that have the character of commodities regulated by the CFTC, to make sure stablecoins can be overseen by the OCC, to make sure that there are tax provisions for the entire industry."
According to the Senator, the updated draft of the bill is said to become available to the public in mid-April. While it does have a long road ahead to ever becoming a law, the ideas outlined will at the very least get conversations going and act as building blocks for more progressive regulation.
In other news, Thailand is quickly becoming an attractive home for crypto companies.
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