Cryptocurrency Bill in Congress: This week was a win for the crypto industry as the United States House of Representatives passed the three cryptocurrency bills on Thursday. It is a great step to regulate cryptocurrency. Let’s see how these bills will impact the crypto industry.
Cryptocurrency Bill in Congress
Yesterday was a remarkable day for the crypto industry as the Cryptocurrency Bill passed in Congress, while the other two bills are pending. The GENIUS Act, one of the three cryptocurrency legislations proposed by the Trump Administration, was approved separately.
The GENIUS Act was passed with 308 to 122 votes, and now awaits the President’s signature to become the law. This is a step toward the adoption of the crypto business, as it is the first crypto law ever enacted in Congress. The other two bills are the CLARITY Act and the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Surveillance Act.
With the cryptocurrency bills, President Trump has fulfilled his promise to boost cryptocurrencies and make the US a crypto hub. All three proposals would mainstream the usage of crypto technology in commercial and everyday life.
According to reports, the crypto industry invested over $100 million to get crypto-supporting politicians elected last year, and with these bills, the industry has got the support for digital currency.
What does the Cryptocurrency bill say?
The federal government has introduced three crypto bills, each of which has a different role and operations. Let’s take a closer look at the GENIUS Act, the first cryptocurrency bill ever passed:
- The bill established the framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that maintains a stable value with a US dollar or reference asset.
- The GENIUS bill stands for Guiding Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, which sticks to its name and requires the stablecoin issuers to hold reserves equal to the coin’s value in circulation.
- The bill mandates that the Treasury secretary, stablecoin regulators, and the bank publish reports and regulations to carry out the legislation.
- The measure is anticipated to go into effect either 18 months after it is enacted or 120 days after the federal stablecoin regulators release the regulations.
- The bill mandates the anti-money laundering and sanctions laws to regulate illegal activities and protect the stablecoin holders’ rights.
- An entity will be established that will regulate and issue the stablecoins. It will be called Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuer (PPSI), where an entity can become a PPSI via three paths: insured banks, smaller nonbanks with a balance of $10 billion, and foreign branches and non-banks with OCC permission.
What do the other two bills imply?
Apart from the GENIUS Act, the government has introduced the other two bills that are yet to pass – the CLARITY Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Now, let’s understand what changes these two bills will bring to the crypto industry:
- CLARITY ACT:
- This bill will establish the legal framework for crypto assets, their classifications, functions, and structures.
- The act will shift the power of regulating the Crypto assets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act:
- The third bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency, while in many countries, central banks are exploring making their own digital currencies.
How can the bills impact the crypto industry?
Now, let’s see how these cryptocurrency bills would impact the industry and financial landscape of the nation:
- The GENIUS Act enforces regulations and legal compliance on stablecoins that will protect the stablecoin holders, which will help in the adoption of the digital currency.
- The stablecoin market is worth $250 billion, and this type of cryptocurrency is linked to the US dollar, encouraging the DeFi platforms to use the stablecoins.
- The CLARITY Act will bring the regulations into the picture for crypto assets and help holders manage them effectively.
- Democrats have expressed concerns that removing the SEC’s involvement in the cryptocurrency sector won’t safeguard consumers because they think it will expose them to risky crypto products.
- The CBDS ban is welcomed by the crypto industry, saying the CBDCs can create issues of consumers’ privacy and undermine the whole concept of decentralized currencies.
- The bills will provide a regulatory framework for the crypto industry, which is one of the barriers to digital currency adoption.
What happens next?
The federal government has proposed the three crypto bills, and got a victory as the GENIUS Act was passed by Congress, and now it has moved to the President’s signature. After the President’s signature, the bill will become a law, and you can see the enactment within some months.
However, the other two bills, the CLARITY Act and the ban on CBDC, are complex bills, passed by the US House of Representatives and now move to the Senate. The government earlier wished to pass the CLARITY Act with the GENIUS Act, but as it has a long route to go and and complex aspect, the government has decided to pass the GENIUS Act separately.
The CLARITY Act and the Anti-CBDC bill will now be presented to the Senate in the coming months, following the GENIUS Act, as the government moves to enact the digital currency bills.
The Democrats have raised concerns over the two bills, so it will be interesting to see how the government will move forward with the other two bills. The other conflict is President Trump and his family’s involvement in the crypto industry.
