Legislation could be weeks away for crypto in US

Republican Patrick McHenry recently said that US crypto legislation could be put together in the next couple of months.

Speaking at Consensus 2023 on Friday, Congressman McHenry, who is the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said that a bill to regulate crypto could be signed by President Joe Biden and passed into law within the next year.

He gave the belief that the legislation could be put together in the next few weeks and commented:

“What we plan to do over the next two months is report a deal out,”

McHenry gave Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, a rather torrid time in last month’s House oversight hearing, in which he accused Gensler’s approach to crypto of being “nonsensical” and suggested that Gensler was more focused on enforcement rather than trying to give clarity to the industry.

Another pro-crypto leader on the same Consensus panel as McHenry was Senator Cynthia Lummis. She gave the view that the House was more likely to pass legislation through a lot quicker than the Senate.

As things stand, the US appears to be far behind other countries and regions as regards crypto legislation. Europe has passed the MiCA regulations, which will come into effect as law in 2024, while the UK, the Middle East, and parts of Asia are also much further down this path.

The very negative stance on crypto by the Biden administration could be one very good reason for the legislative delay in the US. It could be argued that having a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto could give the sector that aura of respectability and legitimacy that those in the higher echelons of government and its financial agencies are trying to avoid at all cost.

Even if the legislation that is eventually imposed can be harsh and suppressive for the industry, the mere fact that crypto might become fully compliant and regulated would probably open the floodgates of institutional funding and investment into a space that is seen by many as having the most innovate technology, besides AI, in the world today.

This in turn would threaten the likes of banks, which are becoming pretty much obsolete in this day and age. Look for the massive wealth in the banking industry to be used to slow and try to derail the majority of crypto firms that might be seen as hot competition for the banks.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.