Rep. Tom Emmer's maneuver to move up the ranks in House leadership amid a vacant House Speaker spot could bode well for cryptocurrency legislation.
"We are always excited to see any champion of the digital asset space advance and we look forward to seeing what this means for the future of our industry,” said Perianne Boring, CEO and founder of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. “Rep. Emmer has been a key collaborator for us, and we appreciate his hard work to foster innovation for digital assets and blockchain technologies."
Emmer has also been critical Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, calling him an “impartial regulator” and taking a “regulation by harassment approach” toward digital assets during a hearing last week. Emmer criticized the agency recently as well for not yet allowing the listing of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
“Those two have a good relationship,” said Ron Hammond, director of government relations at the Blockchain Association. So if McHenry asks for work on his crypto bills, Emmer will take that very seriously, Hammond added. McHenry took over the position of Speaker of the House temporarily on Tuesday — a spot he is not necessarily keen on as he has been focused on getting those two crypto bills out on the floor for a full House vote.