Senator Gillibrand: Crypto Bill Draft To Be Released In April

Senator Gillibrand says that the crypto bill she and Senator Cynthia Lummis worked on together will be rewritten and given to the new House in 2022.

Senator Gillibrand asked the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Rostin Behnam, about the cryptocurrency legislation she had written with Senator Lummis to set up a regulatory framework for the industry. The hearing occurred on March 8 and was held by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The newest version of the bill will be released in mid-April, according to Gillibrand.

Their goal, according to Gillibrand, is to create a forum where a national dialogue about a comprehensive strategy for handling digital assets can begin. This makes sure that the OCC can keep an eye on stablecoins. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate digital assets that act like securities and commodities, respectively. There are also tax rules for the whole industry.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at the Senate Agriculture Committee

Behnam explicitly mentioned possible issues with stablecoins and hacking and claimed that Gillibrand and Lummis had carefully and attentively examined all market components in the most current copy of the crypto bill. Following the introduction of the Lummis-Gillibrand bill in March 2022, the cryptocurrency market underwent a significant upheaval that collapsed companies like FTX, BlockFi, Voyager Digital, Terra, and others.

The CFTC chair added:

“I think given what we experienced and what we saw with FTX, a premium on obviously segregation of assets, on customer conflicts of interest and ensuring that those conflicts are walled off very carefully, I think there are different questions that we probably have to ask in many respects with respect to digital assets in light of cybersecurity, vendor risk, third party service providers.”

Although the Democratic Gillibrand and the Republican Lummis continue to work on the crypto bill together, it is uncertain whether the new House will promote the legislation. Lummis said the bill was “a lot for them to process” for many lawmakers in July. The bill gives a lot of crypto projects the regulatory clarity they need, such as which assets would be under the control of the SEC and CFTC if the Senate and House pass the bill and it is signed into law.