The U.S. House of Representatives achieved its most significant policy victory to date after a decisive 279-136 vote saw lawmakers approve the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), a comprehensive bill aiming to establish cryptocurrency regulation.
This milestone marks the first time a major crypto-related bill has successfully cleared one of the chambers of Congress. However, the road ahead remains uncertain as the bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where it lacks a counterpart bill and where support for crypto regulation remains unclear.
The United States has fallen behind when it comes to establishing clear regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies The bill garnered support from 71 Democrats and 208 Republicans, while 3 Republicans and 133 Democrats voted against it.
President Joe Biden expressed his opposition through a policy statement, although he did not explicitly threaten a veto, as he had done recently when Congress attempted to overturn a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decision related to crypto accounting policy. SEC Chair Gary Gensler also voiced strong opposition, asserting that the bill was unnecessary and posed risks to existing securities regulations.
The bill is set to establish a regime to regulate the cryptocurrency market in the US by setting consumer protections, installing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the leading regulator for digital assets and setting clear responsibilities for it and the SEC. It would also more clearly define what makes a cryptocurrency a security or a commodity.
The cryptocurrency industry rallied behind the bill, with the Crypto Council for Innovation, a coalition of organizations and firms in the space, including Coinbase, Kraken, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Digital Currency Group, alongside 50 others, penning a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), advocating for its passage.
