US: crypto regulation postponed until next year

The Lummis-Gillibrand bill to regulate crypto in the US will likely be delayed until next year. 

Senator Lummis: crypto regulation in the US will have to wait a little longer

This was revealed by Senator Cynthia Lummis herself during her speech at the Bloomberg Crypto Summit, explaining that senators unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies need time to understand and assimilate the proposal.

That is why it will be necessary to postpone the date of the bipartisan vote in the House to pass this bill, which was drafted by Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis herself along with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. 

Lummis said that this is an important topic, and that their bill is comprehensive. Since this is still a new topic for many senators there is a lot of information they have to digest, and there is little time left before the end of the year.

The bill, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, was revealed in early June, and in particular it assigns precise roles to the government agencies CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, the tax treatment of digital assets, and coordination between the agencies themselves.

At this point, it is imaginable that final approval will not come until sometime in 2023. However, individual portions of the same proposal that address very specific topics, such as the role of the CFTC as a key regulator for cryptocurrencies, could be approved as early as this year by including them within other legislation. Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow and Republican Senator John Boozman would already be working on it. 

Indeed, the Stabenow-Boozman bill is based on the assumption that most digital assets will be considered commodities, namely assets that fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The cryptocurrency sector is in urgent need of clear regulation

The portion of Lummis-Gillibrand’s Responsible Financial Innovation Act devoted to stablecoins could also be included within another bill advanced by the Banking Committee. That proposal, too, is expected to be voted on as early as this year.

While speaking at the Bloomberg Crypto Summit, Senator Gillibrand revealed that senators, regulators, and legislators are beginning to realize the urgency of putting in place consumer protections for crypto. He added that there is also increased awareness, and increased interest. 

Then again, with what has happened in recent months in the crypto markets, it is more than obvious that interest has increased. At this point it is really very difficult to imagine that US regulators could disregard this sector, leaving it effectively unregulated as it is now. 

It is important not to forget that between now and possible approval, these bills could still be subject to change, so it is necessary to keep an eye on how the situation evolves in order to fully understand how cryptocurrencies in the United States of America will eventually be regulated.