Regulation
What’s next for FIT21? (A Recap of the 2024 Consensus)
CoinDesk held its annual consensus conference in Austin, Texas last week, where we heard from lawmakers and regulators, developers, business executives, and all sorts of other people in and around this industry. A topic of discussion: the law on financial innovation and technology for the 21st century. Its passage through the House has sparked a wave of enthusiasm in the crypto industry, a sign of progress, even if it is not yet likely to become law.
And on another note, I wanted to thank everyone who said hello to me at Consensus last week. It was great to see you all.
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Reps. Patrick McHenry and Tom Emmer, along with Sen. Ron Wyden, weighed in on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) during their various sessions last week.
One of the main topics of discussion was the House’s passage last month of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, a market structure bill that, if passed enacted, would significantly reshape the regulatory frameworks governing crypto businesses and operations in the United States. The chances – for any bill, in fact – of passing the Senate are slim.
Getting a bill through the Senate is a complex process. As CoinDesk has previously reported, the Senate may want to start from scratch on a market structure bill, meaning it will have to go through a full committee process.
Even if the current version of the bill is debated, the Senate is likely to change provisions or other aspects of the bill, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told the audience last week. In this case, the bill would be sent back to the House.
“Right now my best bet would be that if we get it done this year, it will probably be more likely during the lame duck once the dust has settled and everyone who wears their jersey now recognizes that we need to move on “, did he declare.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), who chairs the Financial Services Committee, said he expects the legislation to be signed within the next year, noting the great support FIT21 has received ( 279 votes for).
“The fact that the White House has not issued a veto threat on FIT21 has been helpful and positive, and it shows that they want to be at the table and policy here,” he said. “The Senate is a more complicated beast. It always is.”
The next step for the bill’s supporters, he said, is to contact senators about the legislation.
“If we can get two-thirds of the House to vote for this bill, they should be able to get two-thirds of the Senate to vote for this bill or something very similar,” he said.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the Democratic lawmakers who voted to rescind the Security and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, said of FIT21 that “what you What you really need is a regulatory framework.
“That’s what President McHenry is trying to do,” he said. “You have to be tough on scammers and scam artists.”
“It’s unclear exactly how far this bill will go, but I think Chairman McHenry is right to establish some sort of regulatory framework and put more emphasis on fighting fraud and scammers,” did he declare.
Over the coming weeks, this newsletter will include transcripts of some of the conversations held at Consensus.
If you have any ideas or questions about what I should discuss next week or any other comments you would like to share, please feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Twitter @nikhileshde.
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