Crypto Companies Push For Congressional Support To Regulate SEC

Crypto companies are making a renewed push on Capitol Hill in search of congressional support for legislation that would provide regulatory clarity and rein in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reported Reuters. 

 As the SEC continues to assert its authority over the crypto industry, a discussion draft bill has been put forward by the Republican chairs of the House Financial Services and Agriculture committees.

The draft bill would define when a cryptocurrency should be considered a security or a commodity, and groups such as the Blockchain Association, Chamber of Digital Commerce, Crypto Council for Innovation, and Coinbase Global are all actively lobbying to build bipartisan support for it.

According to Cody Carbone, Chamber of Digital Commerce, “It’s another motivating factor to get up there and educate Congress” about crypto regulation. Brett Quick, Crypto Council for Innovation, emphasized the need for bipartisan support, saying “For anything to really get traction, it has to have bipartisan support. So we’re very focused on how we as an organization, and as the industry, can help facilitate that.”

Related: New Fed Guidelines Help Crypto Companies Gain Access To Central Banking System

The bill is facing opposition due to the several major crypto players that have collapsed in the last year, including FTX. But Kara Calvert of Coinbase encourages people to look beyond the bad publicity, and see the hundreds of thousands of citizens across the United States that care about crypto. Kristin Smith of Blockchain Association addressed the recent struggles of the crypto market, saying “It was certainly a massive setback, particularly because Sam Bankman-Fried was so personally active in Washington.”

The bill now focuses on Democrats, particularly on the committees who have yet to take a stance on crypto, like Vicente Gonzalez and Sylvia Garcia. With the right combination of support from both political parties, crypto lobbyists believe the bill could have a real shot in the Senate, allowing for the much-anticipated emancipation of the crypto industry.