McHenry pushes for Senate approval of FIT21 crypto bill

House
Financial
Services
Committee
chair
Patrick
McHenry
is
urging
the
Senate
to
pass
a
crucial
bill
that
seeks
to
clarify
cryptocurrency
regulations
prior
to
the
November
presidential
election
in
the
U.S.

On
May
22,
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives

approved
the
Financial
Innovation
and
Technology
for
the
21st
Century
Act
(FIT21)
bill
by
a
majority
of
279
to
136,
pushing
it
to
the
Senate.

The
massive
support
from
the
lower
legislative
body
should
be
a
“wake-up
call
for
the
Senate
that
they
need
to
get
on
with
this,”
McHenry
told
Bloomberg’s
Balance
of
Power
on
May
30.

“They
need
to
stay
focused
on
getting
policy
here
and
get
it
done
before
the
election,”
he
added.

The
bill
paves
the
way
for
most
cryptocurrencies
to
be
classified
as

commodities
and
fall
under
the
regulation
of
the
Commodity
Futures
Trading
Commission
(CFTC).

The
crypto
industry
generally
perceives
the
CFTC
as

more
favorable
towards
cryptocurrencies
compared
to
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC).
However,
the
SEC
would
still
retain
authority
over
cryptocurrencies
that
do
not
meet
the
criteria
for
sufficient
decentralization.

The
House
Financial
Services
chairman,
who
is
retiring
from
Congress
in
January,
said
the
initial
reaction
he
felt
from
the
Senate
was
shock
over
the
wide
margin
it
had
passed
the
lower
house.

“For
us
to
pass
that
important
bill
FIT21
with
a
two-thirds
vote
of
the
House
of
Representatives
in
these
divided
times,
it
is
a
major
statement,”
said
McHenry.

The
Senate
has
no
specific
deadline
for
taking
action
on
FIT21.
For
the
bill
to
pass,
it
requires
a
majority
vote
of
at
least
51
senators.

McHenry,
who
has
been
collaborating
with
Democrat
Maxine
Waters
on
both
cryptocurrency
and
stablecoin
legislation,
indicated
that
any
new
regulation
would
likely
need
to
be
incorporated
into
a
larger
legislative
package
to
advance
through
the
Senate.

Critics
of
the
crypto
bill

argue
it
is
overly
accommodating
to
the
industry,
while
the

Biden
administration
has
emphasized
that
any
digital
asset
legislation
must
balance
consumer
protections
with
opportunities
for
crypto
innovation.

McHenry
also
opposed
Senate
Banking
Chairman
Sherrod
Brown’s
suggestion
to
link
a
stablecoin
package
to
a
bipartisan
marijuana
banking
bill,
which
is
a
priority
for
Schumer.

“I’m
not
in
favor
of
the
cannabis
banking
legislation,”
McHenry
said,
noting
his
previous
votes
against
it.

He
added
that
Republicans
would
“apply
pressure
in
the
best
way
we
can”
to
urge
Schumer
and
the
Senate
to
prioritize
passing
a
crypto
bill.