US Stablecoin Bill Stalls, Negotiations Break Down

A major Congressional effort to create regulations around stablecoins has hit a bump in the road, and while negotiations still ongoing, they are likely to extend beyond what the calendar allows.

The negotiations come down to the Democratic chairwoman of the panel, Maxine Waters, and its ranking Republican, Patrick McHenry, CoinDesk reported Friday (Sept. 2).

Unnamed sources told CoinDesk the initial plan involved releasing a draft of the bill this week, but there are still numerous things to work out, including the role of state regulators, the possibility of an official digital dollar down the line and the treatment of customer money held by crypto platforms.

While the bill was supposed to have a draft released weeks ago, there was a last-minute request from the Treasury Department to add a provision to keep crypto customers’ money legally walled off from the assets of the companies they were dealing with, which reportedly delayed things further.

As the negotiations are still underway, the bill isn’t likely to make it through the year, according to the report. However, because the same lawmakers involved will most likely win their races in November, the effort might be picked up by the new Congress next year.

It comes as there’s increasing pressure from the industry to start regulating crypto, with the absence of rules on stablecoins showing its effect in May as Terra/LUNA collapsed. Regulations for crypto and other related assets have been a hot-button topic for some time, with a new bill in California now waiting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.