US Lawmaker Plans to Introduce Comprehensive Crypto Bill in 2022

Cynthia Lummis, one of the lawmakers in the United States who has played a major role in developing several pro-crypto legislation in the country, plans to introduce a comprehensive bill for handling digital assets in the coming year. In a report on Thursday, Bloomberg stated that the proposed bill of the Wyoming Senator would be aimed at providing regulatory clarity where stablecoins are concerned. It would also give guidance to regulators about which cryptocurrencies belong to different asset classes and are capable of offering consumer protections. Furthermore, US Senator has also proposed to create an organization that would be under the joint jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for overseeing the crypto market.

Lummis took to Twitter for urging US voters to get in touch with their respective senators for supporting the crypto bill and said that she was searching for bipartisan cosponsors. Even though she is a staunch conservative who had voted against a commission for impeaching the former US president and investigating the attack at the US Capitol on Jan 6th, the Wyoming senator has worked with Democrats like Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Warner for ‘fixing’ the definition of broker in an infrastructure bill that had been signed into law back in November.

At least 60 lawmakers would have to support legislation in the Senate in order for it to be put to vote. Out of the 100 seats in the Senate, 50 of them belong to the Democrats and if a tiebreaker is needed, Vice President Kamala Harris can do the job. Before her election to the Senate, Lummis had been a pro-Bitcoin advocate and disclosed that she had bought Bitcoin valued between $50,001 and $100,000, as part of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. 

Some of the other members of the Congress who have reported crypto exposure include Marie Newman, the Illinois Representative, Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Representative, Michael McCaul, Texas Representative, Michael Waltz, Florida Representative, Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey Representative, and Barry Moore, Alabama Representative. In contrast, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive lawmaker, spoke out recently that holding BTC or any other digital asset was inappropriate for her. The Democratic House member said that these investments could have an impact on their impartiality because they have access to upcoming policy and sensitive information. 

This is not the first time that crypto has been under debate in the United States government. There are both pro and anti-bitcoin enthusiasts in Congress and this has resulted in a lot of confusion regarding regulation. Some states like New York and Miami are taking a very progressive stance, as it seems that cryptocurrency is being incorporated into their financial systems. However, there are others that have turned out to be the opposite and this has led to a lack of clarity. The entire purpose of the proposed legislation would be to provide clarity to investors and authorities alike, so they can take any action accordingly and without worrying about the consequences.