United States Committees Introduce New Digital Assets Bill
- The United States Agriculture and Financial Services Committees introduced a new digital assets bill on July 20.
- The two committees have titled the bill as the “Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act.”
- The bill gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over digital commodities.
- The ill also clarifies the jurisdiction under which the United States SEC will operate.
The members of two prominent House Committees in the United States, the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees, have introduced a new digital assets bill that aims to regulate the booming industry and protect investors from fraud and financial scams. The two committees have spent several months working on the bill, and interestingly, it comes just as a bipartisan bill sponsored by US Senator Jack Reed was submitted in the Senate.
Cryptocurrency regulation has become a concern for regulators around the globe, and the scenario in the United States is no different. The 212-page bill titled “Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act” was introduced on July 20, and as per an explainer, the goal of the bill is to address regulatory gaps and create a framework for regulating “specific risks of different digital asset-related activities.”
It is also crucial to note that the bill gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over digital commodities and clarifies the jurisdiction under which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States will operate. Additionally, a process will also be created through which cryptocurrencies, originally considered digital assets, will be sold as commodities.
The bill has also put into place the conditions that will be required for digital assets to be considered commodities, and the main requirement is decentralization. These digital ‘commodities’ can only be sold via platforms that have been registered with the SEC. Entities that aim to be involved in the crypto sector might need to get registered with both the CFTC and the SEC of the United States.
These agencies will have to work with foreign regulators and create a consistent regulatory standard. Moreover, the Government Accountability Office will be asked to conduct a study into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and how they fit into traditional marketplaces.
Interestingly, a bipartisan bill was also recently introduced, sponsored by United States Senator Jack Reed, that would recognize the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry as similar to “other financial companies, including centralized crypto trading platforms, casinos, and even pawn shops.” The bill would make “anyone who controls that project” liable for the use of the DeFi service by sanctioned persons.
As per an earlier report, US lawmaker Ritchie Torres urged Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to reassess the agency’s stance on cryptocurrencies after its partial loss against Ripple last week. Gensler said that he is not happy with the decision taken by the preceding judge in the SEC vs. XRP lawsuit.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
