Federal Legislative Proposals

Lummis-Gillibrand Bill 

Lummis-Gillibrand Bill, proposed in June 2022, is officially called the Bipartisan Responsible Financial Innovation Act, it is the first comprehensive regulatory proposition for the digital assets in the United States. It aims to provide regulatory clarity for agencies charged with supervising digital assets markets and a comprehensive framework for digital assets – integrating them into existing tax and banking laws. The legislations intends to spur innovation, develop clear standards, define appropriate jurisdictional boundaries and protect consumers. It defines which assets are commodities and securities by looking at the purpose and use of the asset. The bill also gives the CFTC authority where digital assets are more similar to commodities rather than securities. It also introduces rules on stablecoins – among others, guaranteeing that a stablecoin holder will always be able to redeem the equivalent stablecoin value in dollars, or introducing a framework for banks and credit unions to issue payment stablecoins. Other aspects of the Bill include disclosure requirements on digital asset service providers, a study on digital asset energy consumption, a study on the development of a self-regulatory organization and provides a regulatory sandbox for state and federal regulators to collaborate on innovative financial technologies, as well as creates a structure for the taxation of digital assets. Introduction of the bill would bring about necessary clarity and certainty in the area.

 

McHenry Bill

In November 2021, Patrick McHenry together with Congressman Tim Ryan and a group of lawmakers, introduced the Keep Innovation in America Act. The legislation aims to fix the digital asset reporting provision in existing law and provide legal clarity in order to encourage technological innovators and entrepreneurs. The changes will include an alteration to the section 80603 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which due to a limited understanding of the digital assets ecosystem, stifles innovation and raises concerns of privacy. The new proposal creates an alternative definition of ‘broker’ – capturing only those entities which should qualify under it and promises that a study be conducted on the expansion of the definition of ‘cash’ onto ‘digital assets’.

September 2024 U.S. Congress

U.S. Representative John Rose (TN-06), a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, introduced the Bridging Regulation and Innovation for Digital Global and Electronic Digital Assets Act or the “BRIDGE” Digital Assets Act (H.R. 9579), which would establish a Joint Advisory Committee on digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The purpose of the Joint Advisory Committee would be to provide "both the SEC and the CFTC with advice on their respective rules, regulations, and policies related to digital assets."

July 2024 U.S. Congress

S.B. 4830, which strengthen the authority of the United States Secret Service to investigate various crimes related to digital asset transactions and to counter transnational cyber criminal activity, including unlicensed money transmitting businesses, structured transactions, and fraud against financial institutions, and for other purposes, was introduced, read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

July 2024 U.S. Congress

S.B. 4808, which amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income de minimis gains or losses from certain sales or exchanges of virtual currency, and for other purposes, was introduced, read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

June 2024 U.S. Congress

H.R.8822, which amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the payment of certain Federal taxes with bitcoin, was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

May 2024 U.S. Congress

H.R. 4763 - Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which provides for a system of regulation of digital assets by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, was approved in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

May 2024 U.S. Congress

H.R.8480, which requires agencies to update mortgage underwriting programs, guidelines, standards, and systems to require lenders to consider, in the mortgage credit evaluation process, any amounts a borrower has in any brokerage account associated with a cryptocurrency exchange, was introduced and referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 

May 2024 U.S. Congress

H.R.8464, to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration Board to jointly submit a report on trends in the use of blockchain technology to tokenize traditional assets, and for other purposes, was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

May 2024 U.S. Congress

H.R. 8266, which places a two-year moratorium on financial institutions handling, using, or transacting with funds routed through digital asset mixers and to require the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out a study of digital asset mixers, and for other purposes, was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

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