House Committee unveils new crypto bill – A ‘solid start,’ says VanEck’s Sigel
The draft exempts DeFi activities but doesn't mean regulators can't pursue fraud or manipulation incidents in the segment.
- The U.S. has unveiled another crypto market structure bill after the FIT21 Act.
- The crypto community has praised the draft as a ‘solid start’ and upgrade from the previous bill.
On the 5th of May, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services introduced a discussion draft that could form a new crypto market structure bill if adopted.
The draft attempts to offer clarity on several issues raised by the Biden-era SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) enforcement actions.
For example, the draft states that the sale of digital commodities isn’t a security if the purchaser doesn’t acquire an ownership interest in the issuer’s business, profits, or assets.
A ‘solid start’ for US crypto regulation?
For his part, Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital research, praised the draft as an ‘upgrade from the FIT21’ and a solid start.
Notably, the draft also defines stablecoin as non-securities and exempts non-custodial DeFi protocols.
Nevertheless, the DeFi exemption doesn’t limit the regulators’ ability to enforce laws against fraud, false reporting, or market manipulation.
This is the second attempt by the U.S. government to craft a crypto market structure bill after FIT21 (Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act).
In May 2024, the FIT21 bill was passed with strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. But the U.S. Senate hasn’t signed it off yet as of the time of writing.
The bill promised consumer protection and national security.
For his part, Justin Slaughter, VP of regulatory affairs at Paradigm, said the new crypto market structure draft will make the CFTC (Commodities and Futures Trading Commission) the dominant regulator in the space.
“This bill again would make the CFTC the dominant crypto regulator, but still gives the SEC jurisdiction until a network establishes decentralization.”
That said, the next step for the draft will be getting feedback from stakeholders before a formal introduction in the House.
After that, the House committee will review it and push it to the floor for a vote if approved. The Senate vote and the presidential action will come later, before the bill becomes a law.
So, there could be a lot of changes before then.
