Regulation
Two Important Congressional Hearings Today: Crypto Industry Braces for Impact
Tomorrow the US Congress is preparing for two important hearings that the cryptocurrency industry would not want to miss. First, the House Appropriations Subcommittee will mark up the financial services and general government bill for fiscal year 2025.
One of the key points of discussion will be the Staff Accounting Bulletin no. 121 (SAB 121), with the financial statements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This hearing will affect how the SEC can proceed with its regulatory actions regarding the cryptocurrency industry.
The House Financial Services Committee will soon hold a hearing of the Republican-led Subcommittee on Digital Assets. This session will discuss the Tokenization Reporting Act and how tokenizing real-world assets can create more efficient markets.
SEC Budget Cuts: A Severe Blow to Cryptocurrency Regulation?
The House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing will address several policy and budget issues, including massive cuts to SEC funding. The bill proposes $2 billion in SEC operating expenses, a whopping $589.3 million reduction from the fiscal year 2025 budget request and $144.3 million less than the level enacted for fiscal year 2024.
The Enforcement Division will receive a $168 million cut, limiting its budget to $644 million. The bill also introduces several policy constraints to limit the SEC’s authority.
The General Services Administration (GSA) is also under scrutiny, with a proposed budget of $8.947 billion from the Federal Buildings Fund, far below the fiscal 2025 request and the fiscal 2024 enacted level. bill bars the GSA from purchasing real estate except for authorized projects and halts spending on the FBI headquarters until a new plan is submitted.
The second hearing, hosted by the Republican Subcommittee on Digital Assets of the House Financial Services Committee, will focus on the Tokenization Reporting Act. This act plans to explore how tokenization of real-world assets can simplify markets.
A key aspect under discussion will be the need for a clear regulatory framework to support tokenisation. The subcommittee will also address how tokenization can improve market efficiency by reducing transaction costs and improving settlement times.