House in the U.S. progresses three cryptocurrency bills in Crypto Week

The U.S. House of Representatives has dedicated July 14 as the beginning of “Crypto Week” to advance three important crypto bills: the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. These legislative measures are aimed at establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets, ensuring stablecoin regulations, and preventing the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The CLARITY Act is focused on defining the market structure and delineating oversight responsibilities for digital assets among federal agencies. It suggests dividing jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) based on whether a token is categorized as a security or commodity. The bill also introduces a legal structure for digital asset intermediaries and requires licensing for operations within the U.S. market. The bipartisan support for this bill is evident, with both the Financial Services and Agriculture committees approving it with strong votes of 32-19 and 47-6, respectively.

The GENIUS Act concentrates particularly on stablecoins, providing clear guidelines for issuing and backing dollar-linked digital tokens. It outlines reserve standards for issuers, registration requirements for stablecoin firms, and oversight under a new joint protocol involving Treasury and banking regulators. The aim of this bill is to foster innovation and encourage American fintech and blockchain companies to introduce regulated stablecoins in the U.S. rather than seeking clearer regulations in other jurisdictions.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act has the objective of addressing worries that a central bank digital currency could infringe on individual financial autonomy. The bill strives to stop the Federal Reserve from launching or testing a digital dollar and restrain the Treasury from creating a U.S. CBDC without prior congressional approval. In its emphasis on user privacy, this bill opposes what legislators perceive as “surveillance finance,” arguing that CBDCs could grant the government excessive control over individual spending, possibly facilitating political targeting, financial censorship, or widespread surveillance.

This legislative drive is championed by the Trump administration and spearheaded by Chair French Hill, Chair GT Thompson, and Speaker Mike Johnson. This move underscores the U.S.’s potential to lead the global crypto economy and is motivated by concerns regarding financial surveillance, regulatory uncertainty, and competitive pressures from jurisdictions with more crypto-friendly regulations. The bills slated for examination during Crypto Week are the culmination of over a year of legislative groundwork, commencing with the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) in April 2024, followed by numerous hearings and drafts to obtain input from the public and industry.

House Speaker Johnson highlighted the House Republicans’ determination to implement President Trump’s digital assets and cryptocurrency agenda comprehensively. Their coordinated effort to expedite these bills through the House floor positions the U.S. as a frontrunner in crypto innovation by cultivating a regulatory landscape that supports digital asset development while safeguarding financial privacy.