US lawmakers aim to crack down on SEC with proposed bill for crypto regulatory clarity

Lawmakers on the United States House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee have released a draft discussion paving the way for labeling some crypto assets as digital commodities.

according to a discussion draft published On June 2, MLA Proposed “Establishing a functional framework” aimed at providing regulatory clarity for crypto firms in the United States. The draft bill would forbid the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from registering digital asset trading platforms as a regulated alternative trading system and allow such firms to offer “digital commodities and payment stablecoins”.

Notably, the proposed legislation breaks down several viewpoints in the cryptocurrency sector, criticizing the SEC for not offering clear rules of the road. The framework under the bill would allow certain digital assets to qualify as digital goods if they are “presumed to be functional and decentralized” and require the SEC to provide a “detailed analysis” of any objection to the decentralized firm’s classification. it occurs.

“The Act also requires the SEC to modify its rules to allow broker-dealers to hold digital assets if they meet certain requirements,” the draft states. “Additionally, the Act would require the SEC to write rules to modernize certain regulations for digital assets.”

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Draft Legislation Unveiled Today by the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee @PatrickMcHenry and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee @CongressmanGT https://t.co/QTn32ai68B

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) June 2, 2023

Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase Praised The draft bill, saying it “lays a strong foundation for regulatory jurisdiction and definitions” but requires a thorough review before formal introduction. The US-based crypto exchange recently launched a pro-adoption advertising campaign ahead of a lobbying-focused event scheduled for July in Washington, DC.

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The legislation, introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, lacked input from lawmakers on the other side of the political aisle. Democrats and Republicans have occasionally demonstrated a willingness to take a bipartisan approach to crypto regulation, but it’s unclear how far the proposed legislation in the divided Congress could progress.

At the time of publication, US lawmakers in the House and Senate had passed legislation aimed at preventing the government from going into default by raising the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law on June 2.

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