Crypto enthusiasts are celebrating significant progress toward a new system of U.S. oversight for digital assets. Despite uncertainties surrounding how concretely these legislative advances will ripple out into the crypto waters, the industry has made unprecedented strides. The recent movement involves three major digital assets legislations, each attempting to tackle key issues of the crypto world: general regulation framework, stablecoins, and crypto-related money laundering.
The blueprint towards a comprehensive law guiding crypto operations within the U.S. managed to leap over two House committees in the previous week. The advancement was fueled by an unexpected cooperative effort between Republicans, who head the initiative, and a handful of Democratic supporters. However, convincing Senate Democrats and the White House for approval may not be within immediate reach.
The proposal expands the roles of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, tweaking the Commission to play a more active role in crypto governance. But while this provisional victory stirs optimism amongst crypto lobbyists, skeptics express doubts about Senate and White House endorsement.
Stablecoin oversight has also seen its share of contention. An initial unanimous support on the legislation, which sought to establish a more complex licensing and government supervision system, dwindled when the White House’s National Economic Council expressed dissatisfaction with the then proposed model. Notwithstanding, a number of Democrats rallied behind the opposition to vote it through the House Committee.
The fight against money laundering via crypto forms the third front of the legislative triad. This endeavor garners strong bipartisan support, with several Senators adamant about implementing stricter identity checks on crypto platforms. The Senate recently attached an amendment to a defense spending bill to establish examination standards for crypto assets, a move which sent positive waves through the industry.
However, the road to crypto regulation still stretches long and gnarled. Bills need to survive the turbulent rounds of legislative reviews, acquire final approval from both chambers of the House, and ultimately, the president’s signature. Springboarding from this perspective, the industry acclaim for the recent legislative leap may be premature.
However, optimists argue that even failed attempts carve a clear path for deliberations around crypto regulation in the U.S. But with the looming political tension of the upcoming election and an impending congressional break, how soon the crypto world will see a regulatory framework remains in the air.
On the bright side, the daring move by a few Democrats to buck party lines and vote in favor of crypto-friendly policies indicates a willingness to diverge from the status quo. As crypto enthusiasts and lobbyists anticipate, these legislative attempts may prove to be the critical setup for the next stage of U.S. crypto regulation.
Source: Coindesk
