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The US cryptocurrency market awaits the final vote on the FIT21 bill next week: what to expect?
House lawmakers will vote on the Republican-led Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). Major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Gemini, Kraken and Coinbase, along with companies such as Andreessen Horowitz and Digital Currency Group, have expressed support for the bill. This vote marks a crucial moment for the cryptocurrency market, which is on its way to success regulatory clarity in the United States.
Vote on market structure law supported by 60 crypto companies
Sixty crypto organizations support a market structure bill that will be voted on next week. In a letter led by the Crypto Council for Innovation, the signatories urged House lawmakers to pass the bill. The letter was sent Thursday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. While FIT21 will introduce “new compliance challenges” for crypto firms, the groups stressed the need for clear rules.
In the letter they state: “Currently, digital asset companies are required to somehow comply with U.S. securities laws that were designed nearly 100 years ago without considering today’s technological advances, including the ability for transactions to move at the speed of Internet. .”
The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) will be debated next week, with a vote expected mid-week. The bill designates the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the primary regulator of digital assets, defining its responsibilities and those of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It aims to establish consumer protection, including rules on the custody and treatment of assets in bankruptcy, and introduces safeguards against risky behaviour.
In an emailed statement, Ji Kim, CCI’s head of global policy, acknowledged that no bill is perfect, but emphasized that this legislation establishes a much-needed global federal regulatory framework.
The cryptocurrency market waits patiently amid the election hype
Kim expressed his desire to work with policymakers to advance the industry to better protect consumers and ensure innovation stays in the U.S.
The letter was signed by, among others, cryptocurrency exchanges Gemini, Kraken and Coinbase, as well as companies Andreessen Horowitz and Digital Currency Group.
The cryptocurrency industry is currently enjoying significant support in Washington, as both the House and Senate passed a resolution overturning the SEC’s accounting policy, despite President Joe Biden’s veto threat. This victory, clearing the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), saw considerable support from Democrats, with more than one in five Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and about one in five House Democrats ten who supports him.
However, impending comprehensive legislation in the House is more significant, and top Senate Democrats have yet to show comparable support. So far, the Senate has only indicated a potential willingness to include a different cryptocurrency law, which would regulate stablecoin issuers, in a package with other financial laws.
Read also: Are cryptocurrencies safe with banks? The Senate says yes, but Biden’s veto looms