Regulation
The US House’s McHenry says the Senate could be influenced if many Democrats support the cryptocurrency bill
The outcome of a vote expected next week on U.S. legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency industry will strongly influence the chances of the U.S. Senate getting on board, said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), chairman of House Financial Services Committee and a leading proponent of cryptocurrency legislation in the final months of his congressional career.
The thing to watch out for, he suggested, is whether many Democrats will show up to support the bill.
McHenry, who will retire at the end of the year, has made digital asset legislation a top priority as his term on Capitol Hill ends. To that end, the House has seen a number of recent successes in the cryptocurrency space, from the passage of several relevant bills through McHenry’s commission to advancing a congressional effort to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crypto accounting policies.
But the House’s major commitment to the digital assets sector is the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21, which is heading for a long-awaited vote for final approval by the House of Representatives in the coming days. This is the best business suit The U.S. cryptocurrency bill will make its way through Congress this far, and if it passes with a bipartisan vote in the House, it will represent a high point for the industry’s efforts in Washington.
“We will have this bill on the House floor for a vote next week,” McHenry told the DC Blockchain Summit on Wednesday. “The outcome of that vote will determine what kind of attention it gets in the Senate and whether or not we can get anything done.”
However, so far the bill is not expected to find a ready vote in the Senate, meaning it would not be immediately on track to become law. However, McHenry suggested “who knows what will happen” in the so-called lame duck session of Congress between the November elections and the end of the session, when legislation gets a pass on unrelated bills.
Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), who heads a crypto subcommittee and is among the candidates who could replace McHenry as chairman, said at the same event Wednesday that he was optimistic about the outcome of the House vote on FIT21. One major reason: 21 Democrats chose to vote in favor of rescinding the SEC’s controversial crypto accounting provision — Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, or SAB 121 — despite President Joe Biden’s threat to veto the initiative .
“I am optimistic and expect strong Democratic support,” Hill said of FIT21. “This is about the future.”
Hill said it also responds to President Biden’s early-term executive order calling for legislation in this area.
McHenry agrees that getting so many Democrats to fight the White House and the SEC on accounting rules was “a significant thing.” At least one Senate Democrat — Kirsten Gillibrand of New York — has said she will support the resolution to overturn the bulletin when it is voted on Thursday.