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The US crypto market awaits the final vote on the FIT21 bill next week: what to expect?
House lawmakers are set to vote on the Republican Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act. Major crypto exchanges such as Gemini, Kraken, and Coinbase, as well as companies such as Andreessen Horowitz and Digital Currency Group, have expressed support for the bill. This vote marks a crucial moment for the crypto market, as it moves toward regulatory clarity in the United States.
60 crypto companies support vote on market structure bill
Sixty crypto organizations are backing 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 companies, the groups stressed the need for clear rules.
They said in the letter: “Currently, digital asset companies are instructed to somehow comply with U.S. securities laws that were designed almost 100 years ago without take into account today’s technological advances, including the ability for transactions to occur at Internet speeds. .”
The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act is scheduled for next week, with a midweek vote. 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 protections for consumers, including rules for the safekeeping and treatment of assets in bankruptcy, and introduces safeguards against risky behavior.
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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 comprehensive federal regulatory framework.
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Kim expressed his desire to collaborate with policymakers to advance the industry in a way that best protects consumers and ensures innovation stays in the United States.
The letter was signed by crypto exchanges Gemini, Kraken and Coinbase, as well as companies Andreessen Horowitz and Digital Currency Group, among others.
The crypto industry is currently enjoying significant support in Washington, as the House and Senate passed a resolution overturning the SEC’s crypto accounting policy, despite President Joe Biden’s veto threat. This victory, clearing the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), had notable support from Democrats, with more than one in five Senate Democrats including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , and about one in ten House Democrats supporting it.
However, the overall legislation coming to the House is more significant, and top Senate Democrats have yet to show comparable support. So far, the Senate has only indicated its potential willingness to include a different crypto bill, regulating stablecoin issuers, in an overall deal with other financial legislation.