Republican Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) is preparing to introduce his crypto bill in the House of Commons this week and believes the recent Ripple ruling will help boost Democrat support for the legislation, Bloomberg News reported on May 18 July.
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 affecting 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 should step in and provide needed clarity.
He said:
“It’s up to Congress to step in and provide both certainty and clarity.”
Thompson added that he is “hopeful” the ruling will help lawmakers from both camps come together and develop a solid solution to the industry’s problems.
Market structure for digital assets
The Digital Asset Market Structure bill is spearheaded by Thompson and Congressman Patrick McHenry, along with the support of Congressmen French Hill and Dusty Johnson.
It was first introduced in the House of Commons on 2 June for a preliminary review and was then due 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 plans to block the application of exchange rules to non-exchange services such as wallets and node operators.
Under the bill, all cryptocurrencies would be considered a commodity, which will be overseen 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, posing a potential roadblock to its passage.
For example, Congresswoman Maxine Waters recently asked the Treasury and SEC for feedback on the bill and whether current securities laws were adequate for the industry.
Waters also asked them if amending existing laws was a better option than introducing new legislation.
As of this writing, the Treasury and the SEC have not issued a public response to the letter.
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