Republican Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) is gearing up to introduce his crypto bill in the House of Commons this week and believes the recent Ripple ruling will help drum up Democrat support for the legislation, Bloomberg News reported on July 18.
Last week, the court ruled that programmatic sales of Ripple’s XRP to the general public do not qualify as securities sales or as an investment contract under the Howey test, potentially impacting the legislation’s approach to similar cryptocurrencies
Thompson said the ruling shows there is “confusion” in the industry about how securities laws apply to cryptocurrencies, and lawmakers need to step in and provide the needed clarity.
He said:
“It’s up to Congress to step in and provide both certainty and clarity.”
Thompson added that he is “hopeful” that the ruling will help persuade lawmakers from both camps to come together and develop a solid solution for the industry’s woes.
Digital Asset Market Structure
The Digital Asset Market Structure bill is led by Thompson and Congressman Patrick McHenry, along with support from Congressmen French Hill and Dusty Johnson.
It was first introduced in the House of Commons on June 2 for a preliminary review and was subsequently scheduled to go through a voting phase in July.
The bill proposes a new regulatory framework that will categorize cryptocurrencies as either a security or a commodity, aiming to provide greater clarity and certainty for the industry. It also intends to block the application of exchange rules on non-exchange services such as wallets and node operators.
Under the bill, all cryptocurrencies would be considered either a commodity, which will be supervised by the CFTC; or a security, which will be regulated by the SEC.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed skepticism, with some questioning the necessity of the bill, thus presenting a potential roadblock to its passage.
For example, Congresswoman Maxine Waters recently asked the Treasury and the SEC to provide feedback on the bill and whether current securities laws were sufficient for the industry.
Waters also asked them whether modifying current laws was a better option than introducing new legislation.
The Treasury and the SEC did not make a public response to the letter as of press time.
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