US Senators Set To Present Bill To Regulate Crypto

A big effort to regulate crypto in the US could come with a bill to set roles for the two government watchdogs, a report from Coindesk said Tuesday (May 24).

The bill would make the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the main regulator for spot markets and futures. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would meanwhile be the supervisor for crypto that can be represented by the Howey Test, meaning assets offered to “fund a company in the same way stocks are offered to fund companies.”

The bill would also say that crypto miners won’t be regulated as broker-dealers. The lawmakers pushing the bill are Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. Both have worked on this for “months” and have said they want to make the bill public in June.

“We are truly committed to creating the type of baseline and framework legislation that will allow this industry to grow, allow it to flourish,” Gillibrand said. “The best thing we can do for all these businesses is to bring clarity.”

The bill is still being drafted, though Gillibrand says she thinks this will get a full Senate vote next year at the latest.

There’s been a message that CBDCs have a possible role in future payment transactions, which was more optimistic than the group had to say about cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins.

The G-7 said the digital assets should be subjected to more regulations.

“We encourage jurisdictions exploring CBDCs to examine the international dimensions of CBDCs, in particular their cross-border use. CBDCs with cross-border functionality may have the potential to spur innovation and open up new ways to meet users’ demand for more efficient international payments,” read the press release.