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23/05/24
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U.S. House of Representatives Approves FIT21 Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act on May 22, now waiting to be passed by the Senate. The bill, aimed at establishing regulatory clarity over digital assets, was approved in a 279 to 136 vote.
If the Senate passes the legislation and the president signs it into law, the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over digital assets will be clear. The 279 votes consisted of 71 votes from Democrats and 208 from Republicans.
“Unfortunately, our current regulatory framework is preventing digital assets’ innovation from reaching its full potential. The SEC and the CFTC are currently in a food fight for control of these asset classes,” said Representative Patrick McHenry before the House vote.
While speaking prior to the vote, Representative Maxine Waters expressed her intention to oppose the legislation, claiming that the legislation would push crypto to a “regulatory no man’s land”. Likewise, she said it would permit traditional finance companies to operate without SEC oversight.
“This [bill] is perhaps the worst, most harmful proposal I have seen in a long time. This bill would deregulate crypto and certain traditional securities to the extent that I and other experts have expressed serious concerns about this bill causing a potential market crash and recession,” said Representative Waters.
According to reports, the Democratic Party leadership said it was against the FIT21 bill prior to the vote on May 22, but there would be no whipping against the legislation.
The lawmakers will discuss and vote on another legislation (Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Anti-Surveillance State Act) aimed at prohibiting the Fed from issuing a digital dollar via intermediaries.
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