Crypto Regulation: Senate Banking Committee Prioritizes Framework in 2023

Senate Banking Committee’s Crypto Priorities

  • Senator Tim Scott, the Republican ranking member on the United States Senate Banking Committee, reportedly plans to develop “a bipartisan regulatory framework” for cryptocurrencies.
  • The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing in December aimed at exploring the collapse of FTX, with the possibility of continuing its investigation in a new session of Congress.
  • Representative Patrick McHenry has the authority to set the legislative agenda for the financial committee and reportedly plans to create a new subcommittee focused on digital issues.

Senator Tim Scott’s Plan

Senator Tim Scott, who became the committee ranking member following the departure of Pat Toomey, reportedly plans to make a crypto regulatory framework a priority in 2023. He is skeptical of some aspects of crypto due to high-profile failures like FTX which resulted in lost consumer assets, as well as potential uses for illicit finance. Senator Scott intends to develop a bipartisan regulatory framework that addresses these concerns while encouraging innovation in the digital asset space.

Senate Hearing on FTX Collapse

In order to investigate this issue further, The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing in December aiming at exploring the collapse of FTX. It is possible that they may continue their investigation into this issue during another session of Congress in 2023.

Representative Patrick McHenry’s Plans

With Republicans taking control of House Representatives, Patrick McHenry was given authority over setting up legislative agendas for financial committees. He plans to create a new subcommittee focusing specifically on digital related issues due to lack thereof previously addressed by committees.

White House Cryptocurrency Roadmap Recommendations

The White House published cryptocurrency ‘roadmap’ recommends against pension funds investing directly into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum due to market volatility and other risks associated with them. However, it supports wider use and implementation of blockchain technology while emphasizing an importance on investments into research and development concerning distributed ledger technology (DLT).

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