HFSC-Ag Hearing Splits on Party Lines Over Need for New Crypto Framework

Today’s joint HFSC-House Ag hearing on assessing crypto’s regulatory gaps saw bipartisan calls for Congressional action, but none on what that should be done. HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) and HFSC Republicans pressed strongly for a new regulatory framework to ensure regulatory certainty and draw clear lines between the SEC and CFTC. HFSC Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) indicated that cryptoassets did not warrant an entirely new construct, instead favoring targeted legislation on issues such as stablecoins. House Ag Members on both sides of the aisle agreed that the CFTC should be given authority over spot markets and additional resources, but did not directly address giving the SEC broader authority as proposed in the Senate Ag sweeping crypto bill. While this joint approach to digital assets is unprecedented, the GOP leadership’s decision to strip the SEC of some of the authority it claims and to craft a new regulatory category for some digital products faces stiff odds against enactment.

CRYPTO43.pdf