The U.S. House Financial Services Committee passed a bill Wednesday aimed at defining whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee passed a bill Wednesday aimed at defining whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities. The bill also seeks to increase the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s oversight over the crypto industry and clarify the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Fast facts
Widely considered a win for crypto lobbyists seeking regulatory clarity for the industry, Wednesday’s markup was the first time a crypto regulatory bill has been voted on in Congress.
Passage of the bill enjoyed the support of House Financial Services Committee Republicans, and pro-crypto Democrats including House Representative from New York Ritchie Torres.
The status quo of crypto regulation by enforcement has failed retail customers.
Einstein once said: “If we do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, that’s the definition of insanity.”
The bill will now go to a vote in the Senate where it may encounter significant opposition from Democratic lawmakers.
Responding to the vote, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said that she was “disappointed that Republicans have made the unilateral decision to move forward with a massive market structure bill to rewrite our nation’s investor protection laws.” Waters added that the bill favored the interests of the crypto industry over those of regulators and consumers.
The markup is one of a number of key Capitol Hill developments for the crypto industry this week. On Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to markup the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which again aims to clarify the status of digital assets in the U.S.
🚨Introducing the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. This bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital assets, protects consumers, fosters innovation, and positions America as a leader in finance and technology. #cryptohttps://t.co/0ihzY3MP0k
— House Committee on Agriculture (@HouseAgGOP) July 20, 2023
The action on Capitol Hill arrives as the SEC continues to exert its regulatory control of the nation’s crypto industry, including in the form of lawsuits brought against cryptocurrency exchanges Binance.US and Coinbase in June for alleged violations of securities rules.
The SEC argues that the vast majority of cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities, therefore drawing the digital asset industry into its jurisdiction.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday the Biden administration is seeking to carefully target U.S. controls on exports to China, but rules will cost firms some revenue. Restrictions should not be so broad "that you deny American companies revenue and China can get the product elsewhere, or China can get the product from other countries," Raimondo said at a forum. Rules "will deny some revenue to American companies, but we think it's worth it."
After years of contentious negotiations, the board of Walt Disney World's governing district now made up of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees approved a contract for its firefighters on Wednesday and also proposed reducing property taxes. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District voted unanimously to approve the three-year contract that covers 200 firefighters and paramedics in the Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters' Association. The contract, among other provisions, would increase wages by 5%, including raising the starting annual wage for firefighter and paramedics from $55,000 to $66,000.
U.S. bond investors were gauging how to navigate a prolonged period of higher interest rates that some expect to weigh on U.S. growth, after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday left open the possibility of more rate increases and excluded easing financial conditions anytime soon. With its latest 25 basis point interest rate increase now in the books, the Fed has raised the benchmark overnight interest rate by 525 basis points since March 2022 to a level last seen before the 2007 housing market crash in a fight to bring down inflation. Cooling consumer prices and a resilient economy have sparked rallies in stocks this year and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said a recession is unlikely - a sharp reversal from the mood earlier this year, when both the Fed and investors believed a downturn was all but unavoidable.
The explosion early on a June morning ignited a blaze that engulfed a New York City shop filled with motorized bicycles and their volatile lithium-ion batteries. As the ubiquity of e-bikes has grown, so has the frequency of fires and deaths blamed on the batteries that power them — sparking a push to better regulate how the batteries are manufactured, sold, reconditioned, charged and stored. Consumer advocates and fire departments, particularly in New York City, are urging the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish national safety standards and confiscate imports that don't comply with regulations at the border, so unsafe e-bikes and poorly manufactured batteries can be taken off the streets and out of homes.
Lawmakers intent on reducing China 's influence on the U.S. economy are pushing the Treasury Department to help curb the outsized role of Beijing at the Inter-American Development Bank, which supports economic and social development in Latin America and Caribbean. The bipartisan group of lawmakers say Beijing is using the bank as a tool to expand its influence in the region.
Four Republican U.S. senators on Wednesday sought to reverse a Biden administration decision to waive "Buy America" requirements for government-funded electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Senators Marco Rubio, Roger Marshall, Rick Scott and Kevin Cramer said the Federal Highway Administration waiver of U.S. content requirements for steel, iron and construction materials would result in U.S. taxpayers subsidizing Chinese-made products. "It hurts American companies and empowers foreign adversaries, like China, to control our energy infrastructure," Rubio said.
U.S. regulators are set to propose a rule that could significantly raise capital requirements for larger banks, forcing them to cut costs and retain earnings in an effort to cushion against potential losses that could harm customers and investors. The proposal, to be unveiled later on Thursday and voted on by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, marks the first in an extensive effort to tighten bank oversight, particularly in the wake of spring turmoil that saw three large financial firms fail. The rule, which would implement a 2017 agreement by global regulators, aims to overhaul how banks gauge their riskiness, and in turn how much money they must keep on hand.
