According to the two U.S. Senators, Cynthia Lummis (Republican) and Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat), the significant bipartisan crypto measure would likely be postponed until next year.
The Senators said there is a remote possibility that the full law would be passed by the Senate this year when speaking at Bloomberg’s Crypto Summit on July 19. Lummis noted that:
“Kirsten and I both agree that the measure is more likely to be postponed until next year if it is passed in its entirety. Many U.S. Senators are still learning about this broad, in-depth topic, so there is much for them to process in the few weeks this year.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the banking industry, the taxation of digital assets, and interagency cooperation are covered under the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which was presented in the U.S. Senate on June 6.
The two pointed out that certain bill provisions might be included in other legislation that passes this year. Gillibrand mentioned that fellow Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow & Republican ranking member John Boozman is working on a bill that would designate the CFTC as the primary regulator for cryptocurrencies.
The Provisions Of The Bill
When it comes to the classification of the majority of digital assets as commodities and their consequent placement under the CFTC’s purview, the bill incorporates certain provisions from the Lummis/Gillibrand Act.
Lummis added that their bill’s section dealing with the control of stablecoins issued by financial institutions might be combined with one from the banking committee and put to the vote this year.
The senators underlined that both sides of the political spectrum had responded to the bill largely favorably.
According to Senator Lummis, banking and agriculture are the two committees with senators who are most focused on this issue. Still, Gillibrand noted that the finance committee has also been paying attention because “Senator Wyden and his working group wrote a good part of the tax provisions in our bill.”
The CFTC has flagged 34 cryptocurrency and forex firms as unregistered foreign organizations.
The two acknowledge that their comprehensive crypto bill will take some time to receive the proper attention before it is voted on next year. Still, Gillibrand emphasized that her fellow senators, regulators, and lawmakers are starting to recognize the urgency of at least putting consumer protections in place:
“There is more interest because people are aware of how crucial it is to act, how poorly consumers are now protected, how there is no supervision or responsibility, and how there are no established road rules.”“There is now greater urgency and a requirement for action,” she continued.
The remarks were made in light of the recent bankruptcy procedures of cryptocurrency loan companies like Celsius and Voyager, which have put consumers at a high risk of losing the money they invested on such platforms.
Additionally, Lummis mentioned the $40 billion Terra ecosystem collapse in May and the algorithmic stablecoins’ dangerous nature, which calls for more regulation.
