House Financial Services Committee Approves Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act

Odaily Planet Daily News On Wednesday, a key panel in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation backed by cryptocurrency advocates, the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act, which aims to create clearer rules for the fledgling industry. The U.S. House of Representatives financial services committee approved the Republican-led bill in a 35-15 vote. The legislation would establish rules for when cryptocurrency companies must register with the SEC or CFTC. It provides a process for digital asset issuers to certify to the SEC that a blockchain network is sufficiently decentralized, which would allow the associated token to be classified as a commodity regulated by the CFTC. The bill also calls for the two agencies to participate in joint rulemaking and requires research on issues including NFTs and DeFi. Additionally, the bill states that a digital asset is not a security per se, since it is sold as part of an investment contract. The next step in the bill, which will go to the House Agriculture Committee for review, includes $120 million in additional funding for the CFTC. Under the bill, the CFTC would gain new powers to regulate the asset class. It is worth mentioning that the bill will face a lot of resistance in the Democratic-led Senate, given that Ohio Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown has been skeptical of the encryption industry. (Bloomberg)