Congress Financial News

A bill to create a regulatory framework for digital assets has been introduced by Republican members of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees of the United States House, the result of several months of joint effort by the two committees.

United States Sen. Jack Reed sponsored a bipartisan bill introduced into the Senate on July 18 that would tighten Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and sanctions requirements for decentralized finance (DeFi). According to a news release on Reed’s website, the bill is titled the Crypto-Asset National Security Enhancement and Enforcement (CANSEE) Act.

A former federal prosecutor turned chief executive of a crypto-focused venture capital fund says she would be “surprised” if the United States securities regulator lodges an immediate appeal against the Ripple case ruling, as it currently benefits from lack of “legal clarity.”

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could be investigated for a “haphazard and heavy-handed approach to digital assets” or, more specifically, for its “sweetheart deal” with crypto platform Prometheum. 

Six members of the United States Congress have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice to investigate Prometheum, claiming the firm has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 

After a failed rally above $31,000 on June 23, Bitcoin (BTC) has sustained the $30,300 resistance for the past three days. Curiously, this happened while gold reached its lowest level in three months, trading at $1,910 on June 22, down from a $2,050 peak in early May.

The relatively under-the-radar crypto company Prometheum has been thrust into the spotlight after a recent testimony from its co-founder before a United States House Committee, discussing crypto regulatory clarity.

House Republican lawmaker said Tuesday that he intends to hold a committee vote on a comprehensive bill to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency products in the coming weeks. Representative Patrick McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he expects to put a bill forward for the panel to consider after lawmakers return to work on July 11. «I intend for this committee to mark up some form of this legislation when we return from the July 4 recess,» he said at a hearing Tuesday. McHenry has been leading an effort by some Republicans in Congress to pass a bill establishing clear rules for the crypto industry. A discussion draft put forward earlier this month by McHenry and others would clarify responsibilities for overseeing crypto products by regulators, and would give a pathway for crypto companies and exchanges to register with those agencies.

Members of the United States House Financial Services Committees met to discuss clarity for the digital asset ecosystem, with some invoking recent legal action from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto firms.

United States Rep. Warren Davidson has introduced the “SEC Stabilization Act” into the House of Representatives, announced on June 12. One of the bill’s main provisions is to fire Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler. 

Lawmakers in the United States have proposed two new bipartisan bills targeting issues of transparency and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). 

What do progressive Democrats, Republican national security hawks and Wall Street traders have in common? They are all apparently enlisting in United States Senator Elizabeth Warren’s “anti-crypto army.” The progressive senator’s reported alliance with Marc Cohodes, a Wall Street short-seller who profited from the recent carnage at crypto banks, is the latest example. 

Coinbase, Robinhood, and representatives from the United States commodities regulator are set to testify before Congress on June 6 to discuss a newly proposed crypto bill. 

Members of the United States Congress — Brad Sherman and Stephen Lynch — have penned a letter to the heads of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), demanding the implementation of tax regulations for the crypto industry.

Lawmakers urged a US regulator to not further limit certain financial stakeholders in its proposed rule tightening cryptocurrency custody requirements. 

Stablecoin issuers including Tether, Circle, and others have spent well over a million dollars lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill since the start of 2022, according to recent data.

A blockchain lobbying group backed by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, Circle and Fidelity has urged the United States Congress to pass a legal framework for digital assets or risk falling behind other nations.

State versus federal regulation was a key issue in the hearing on stablecoins in the United States House of Representatives on May 18. The House Committee on Financial Services’ new Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion heard testimony from five experts as it considered two proposed bills to regulate stablecoins.

On May 10, the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and Agriculture Committee held their first joint hearing on digital asset regulation. The event felt like a logical continuation of another recent hearing where representatives lambasted Securities Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler for perceived regulatory overreach. 

Sen. Cynthia Lummis said she found it disappointing that a former crypto-friendly Signature Bank executive is not taking the blame for the failed bank, while criticizing his wordiness about crypto. 

Following some of its leadership team visiting the United Arab Emirates, crypto exchange Coinbase has announced the formation of an advisory council staffed with many former United States lawmakers and industry leaders