Recently, two legislative bills have been introduced in the US Congress to help regulate cryptocurrencies and their platforms. The first one deals with the cryptocurrencies themselves and whether or not they fall under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while the other bill focused on the regulation of some crypto platforms through the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
However, just like any legislation for the cryptocurrency industry, this one is also going to be tricky when it comes to debate on the congressional committees and floor itself. But, the fact that the bill is being proposed by the “Blockchain Caucus” which was established to lobby for the decentralized sector means that it may involve limiting the power of federal agencies to regulate the cryptocurrency sector at will.
So, upon further reading, the initial view is reinforced as the two bills tabled in Congress seek to redefine what a security is in the USA and allow for a direct approval of cryptocurrency exchanges and other trading platforms. The first bill is titled “Securities Clarity Act” and it would try to establish a distinction between conventional securities and digital tokens, the likes of which are circulated in the crypto industry. The new proposed law is widely seen as an successor to the more recently passed law called Simple Agreement for Future Tokens. Under this law, both EOS and Telegram’s crowd sales were heavily scrutinized and subsequently banned by the SEC. This bill was tabled by Tom Emmer, a Republican representative from Texas.
The other piece of legislation was put forward by Mike Conway, a Republican representative from Texas. It is called Digital Commodities Exchange Act. The bill would allow exchanges to obtain licenses nationwide easily without having to go through the regular problematic licensing ordeal that involves seeking permission from all fifty states individually. While this may not seem like a big deal, but the US has some of the most limited options in the world in cryptocurrency exchanges because of the legacy rules. Famously, even Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the West doesn’t have the authority to do so in New York or Hawaii. With a prompt registration with the CFTC, exchanges won’t need to table individual licenses from every state in the country.
The US has the most positive outlook of crypto anywhere in the world and yet it has also remained at the back of the pack. With easy licensing and clearer licensing deals, the sector will flourish in the country like never before. However, the bills aren’t passed in the Congress yet and with elections approaching, they might take a back seat before the confirmation of the next house and presidential elections.
Image source: pixabay.com
Don’t worry, we hate spam too
one weekly digest, just the important stuff.
