WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators unveiled a bill on Tuesday that might set up new guidelines for cryptocurrency, and hand the majority of their oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The bill, launched by Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, one in every of Congress’ most vocal cryptocurrency advocates, and Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, marks some of the bold efforts but by lawmakers to place clear guard rails round quickly rising and controversial cryptocurrency markets.
The measure would stipulate that the CFTC, not the Securities and Exchange Commission, play the first function in regulating crypto merchandise, most of which the senators mentioned function extra like commodities than securities. The smaller CFTC is mostly seen as a friendlier regulator for cryptocurrency, because the SEC has usually discovered that crypto merchandise should adhere to a number of securities necessities.
The bill is just not anticipated to grow to be regulation within the present session of Congress, with the midterm elections simply months away, however its framework might function a place to begin for future debates about how greatest to oversee these markets.
“We count on this bill would be the start line for debate subsequent 12 months no matter which get together controls the House or the Senate,” wrote Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group. “What does matter is that there’s a bipartisan effort to convey crypto into the prevailing regulatory regime even when the main points are possible to change.”
The senators mentioned the bill is aimed toward offering certainty and readability to crypto markets, alongside shopper protections.
Among different gadgets, the bill would set up new guidelines for “stablecoins,” that are tokens supposed to have their worth pegged to a standard asset just like the U.S. greenback. Those merchandise have been beneath vital strain currently after a crash within the worth of a high-profile stablecoin, TerraUSD.
The new bill would require stablecoin issuers to preserve high-quality liquid belongings equal to the worth of all excellent stablecoins, and public disclosures of these holdings.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
