Significant votes on several high-profile, bipartisan initiatives that formerly appeared to have a good chance of passing before the end of 2022 are being postponed by congressional committees. Their chances of becoming law in 2022 have all but vanished as a result of MPs’ current intense emphasis on the elections that will take place in one month.
According to the calendar, it will be extremely difficult to pass any legislation through both chambers of Congress, according to Perianne Boring, founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce trade association.
The crypto industry has been ardently advocating for new rules, while the majority of business sectors are fine with — or even actively lobby for — the Washington snarl. They claim that Congress must intervene because the government agencies responsible for implementing present American financial regulations and laws are unprepared to deal with digital assets.
Recent volatility in the cryptocurrency markets, such as the demise of the well-known algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, has left investors with billions of dollars in losses and prompted more calls for action on Capitol Hill. The cost of Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency in the world, has dropped more than 50% since the start of the year, in addition to regulatory uncertainty and market failures.
Legislation to control cryptocurrency stablecoins and give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority to monitor digital assets have received the greatest traction among the numerous laws being considered. However, the shared desire hasn’t yet resulted in success.
For instance, a stablecoin bill that House Financial Services Committee leaders have been quietly negotiating for months with support from the Biden administration has stalled because lobbyists and legislative staff are still engaged in conflict. According to some with knowledge of the situation, there are disagreements on the role of state regulators and who should be eligible for accounts with the Federal Reserve that are generally only available to banks. Both the committee’s head, Maxine Waters, and its top Republican, Patrick McHenry, did not respond to calls for comment.
Because members still need time to comprehend the complicated contents in the most draft class, the Legislators missed a set deadline for a committee vote on the bill last month. If Republicans win control of the chamber in next month’s elections, they would also be in a stronger negotiating position.
Two prominent Senate initiatives that would strengthen the CFTC’s capacity to directly monitor trading in Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies that are not governed by US securities rules have likewise made little progress. The Senate Agriculture Committee’s co-chairs, Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman, are leading one bill, while Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming are supporting another, far larger package.
The US’s top Wall Street regulators are a part of the Treasury-led Financial Stability Oversight Council, which stated this week that Congress should grant it the authority to directly supervise tokens that aren’t securities.
Given that Congress will likely be in recess until after the Nov. 8 midterm elections, the chances of adopting a crypto law this year seem to be getting longer and longer. However, there is still a slight chance, particularly if legislators add one of the proposals to legislation that must be approved by the middle of December in order to support the government.
The sector might benefit from a delay since it would have more time to campaign against changes it doesn’t like, such as those that could affect decentralised financial institutions.
Kristin Smith, the executive director of the business organisation Blockchain Association, stated, it’s not when anything gets done. It is what is accomplished.
