- On July 27, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the cryptocurrency bill.
- Participants made a number of amendments, but overall the initiative remained unchanged.
- The committee approved the bill and sent it to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
The U.S. House Agriculture Committee has approved the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Bill. The initiative lays the foundation for a regulatory framework for digital assets.
The committee has thus referred the bill to the House of Representatives for a subsequent vote, CoinDesk specifies. Lawmakers made only a few minor amendments during consideration.
Congressman David Scott spoke on behalf of Democrats to demand stronger investor protections. He said the bill should reflect a mandatory third-party audit of counterparty reserves.
He also noted that the bill imposes new responsibilities on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The regulator did not receive additional funding.
Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo has introduced a proposal to require service providers to join the Futures Trading Association, which is intended to provide oversight of the industry while rules are being developed. The amendment was approved.
Another member of the House of Representatives, Jasmine Crockett, insisted on requiring a physical address for each market participant.
Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson praised the initiative, noting that the bill brings needed clarity to the issue of government enforcement actions.
Sheila Warren, chairwoman of the Council for Cryptocurrency Innovation (CCI), agrees, with a statement quoted by Cointelegraph:
“This is an important indicator that the authorities will not be able to maintain the status quo. Consumers, U.S. competitiveness, and national security are too much at risk for us to simply step aside.”
Reminder, the above bill was previously approved by the House Financial Services Committee. At the same time, an initiative for a regulatory definition of blockchain has been given the green light.
An initiative for a regulatory definition of blockchain has been given the green light.