The House Financial Services Committee advanced a set of crypto bills after a landmark markup on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, the committee’s chair, Rep. Patrick McHenry , praised the legislation during his opening comments, noting it was the first time a committee was marking up crypto-specific legislation and affirming that legislation is necessary to prevent the U.S. from “falling behind” other countries in regulating crypto.
The CFTC has earned a reputation for being softer on crypto companies than the Securities and Exchange Commission , something Democrats have said could enable future fraud. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other crypto industry bigwigs previously petitioned for the regulator to be granted more power to regulate the space.
The crypto framework, they said, will temper what they described as the SEC's brutal crackdown on the digital assets industry, incentivizing companies to remain in the U.S. rather than migrate to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions. The National Defense Authorization Act now includes an amendment from Senators Cynthia Lummis , Kirsten Gillibrand , Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall that would require the Treasury Department, Conference of State Bank Supervisors and other regulators to create"a risk-focused examination and review process for financial institutions" to assess certain crypto-related risks.