Regulation
Two Major Congressional Hearings Today: Crypto Industry Braces for Impact
The US Congress is gearing up for two important hearings tomorrow that the crypto industry wouldn’t want to miss. First, the House Appropriations Subcommittee will mark up the Financial Services and General Government bill for FY 2025.
One of the key points of discussion will be Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121), with the budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This hearing will affect how the SEC can pursue regulatory actions regarding the crypto industry.
Soon, the House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing of the Republican-led Digital Assets Subcommittee. This session will discuss the Tokenization Reporting Act and how tokenizing real-world assets can create more efficient markets.
SEC Budget Cuts: A Blow for Crypto Regulation?
The House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing will address several budget and policy issues, including massive cuts to SEC funding. The bill proposes $2 billion for SEC operating expenses, a significant reduction of $589.3 million from the FY25 budget request and $144.3 million less than the level adopted for FY24.
The Law Enforcement Division will receive a $168 million cut, limiting its budget to $644 million. The bill also introduces several policy elements intended to limit the authority of the SEC.
The General Services Administration (GSA) is also under scrutiny, with a proposed budget of $8.947 billion from the Federal Buildings Fund, well below the requested level for FY25 and the enacted level for FY24 The bill prohibits the GSA from purchasing real estate, except for authorized projects, and halts spending on the FBI headquarters until a new plan is submitted.
The second hearing, hosted by the Republican Subcommittee on Digital Assets of the House Committee on Financial Services, will focus on the Tokenization Reporting Act. This law plans to explore how the tokenization of real-world assets can streamline markets.
One of the key aspects under discussion will be the need for a clear regulatory framework to support tokenization. The subcommittee will also examine how tokenization can improve market efficiency by reducing transaction costs and improving settlement times.