Regulation
Experts say Republicans are likely to push forward with pro-crypto agenda
While the potential return of former crypto skeptic Donald Trump to the White House has raised hopes for a new crypto-friendly era in Washington, it remains unclear how the Republican Party would approach crypto issues if it took control of the government, experts say.
“It’s always a little difficult to predict how campaign promises will translate into action,” said Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute. Decipher“But the Biden administration has really been so hostile in so many different ways that a Republican administration doesn’t have to do much to appear more crypto-friendly.”
Republicans have made a determined effort to reach out to cryptocurrency voters this election campaign. Last week, the Republican National Committee included pro-crypto language in its party platformand Trump announced who would have attended and spoken at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville by the end of the month.
After the failed assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend, the cryptocurrency market was buzzing in an apparent reflection of the belief that his chances of election had improved.
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, whom Trump announced yesterday as his running mate, has has signaled his support for the cryptocurrency industry and said he owns between $100,000 and $250,000 in Bitcoin on his Senate Financial Disclosure Form 2022.
Vance also worked for famed Silicon Valley investor and cryptocurrency advocate Peter Thiel in 2016 and 2017, and received significant support from Thiel during his 2022 Senate campaign. Thiel and another well-known cryptocurrency advocate, Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz, supported a venture fund launched by Vance in 2020.
Schulp said Republicans’ interest in creating a crypto-friendly regulatory environment appears to be real.
“I think we see a lot of signs that the GOP is supporting a different regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies than the Biden administration is proposing,” he said. Decipheradding that there is also a significant pro-crypto bloc among Democrats.
Schulp pointed to recent legislative activity in the House as evidence of Republicans’ commitment to cryptocurrency issues, including the repeal of the SEC’s SAB 121 rule, which President Biden vetoed last week-and the ride of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21. Both efforts were supported primarily by Republicans, although FIT21 also received support from 71 Democrats.
“The first sign of sincerity is to look at what they’ve done before,” Schulp said. “I think that’s a better indicator of what they’ll do in the future than what’s said on the campaign trail.”
A further indication of the nature of Republicans’ engagement on cryptocurrency issues will come from their selections for committee chairs and other appointments, said Sarah Oh Lam, a senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Decipher.
If the GOP retains control of the House, it will have to find a replacement for outgoing House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is retiring in January. Congressional Blockchain Caucus members Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) are vying to replace him.
And if Trump wins the presidency, crypto-friendly SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce (aka “Crypto Mom”) could run to lead the agency.
It will also be important to monitor whether existing cryptocurrency legislation moves forward in the new Congress, Lam said. Bills under consideration include the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, which would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins. There’s also Rep. Tom Emmer’s Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would clarify that “blockchain developers and service providers that do not hold consumer funds are not money transmitters.”
While the details of the next era of cryptocurrency regulation have yet to be ironed out, elected officials from both parties are responding to growing pressure from industry and grassroots users, said John Berlau, director of financial policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
“Politicians are listening to their constituents, and that’s how it should work,” Berlau said. “Their constituents are getting younger and more interested in cryptocurrency.”
By Andrea Hayward AND Josh Quittner