Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have been treading water over the last month after a huge crypto crash (though some high-profile industry insiders are now warning “crypto winter” has returned).
The bitcoin price, down more than 50% from its all-time highs, is stuck at around $30,000 per bitcoin while smaller cryptocurrencies ethereum, BNB, solana, cardano, XRP, tron and avalanche are faring even worse amid fears some projects won’t recover.
Now, bitcoin-supporting senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has said she’s finally ready to unveil the details of a long-awaited crypto bill—a proposal she claims will “fully integrate digital assets into [the] financial system.”
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Senator Cynthia Lummis has been working with a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers to create a … [+]
“We’ve been teasing it for months, but the time is almost here—a proposal to fully integrate digital assets into our financial system,” Lummis posted to Twitter. “Excited to finally unveil this effort next week.”
The bill, in the works for months, is expected to define whether different cryptocurrencies are either securities or commodities and which agency will have oversight of them—either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC).
Last month, The Block reported some in the crypto community have expressed concern that the bill could label many cryptocurrencies—potentially including the likes of ethereum, BNB, solana, cardano, XRP, tron and avalanche—as securities.
Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event last week, Lummis outlined what the bill will include.
“It is a very comprehensive bill, it will be filed on June 7,” Lummis said. “It includes coins that are commodities, coins that are securities, it includes stablecoins, it includes a discussion about CBDCs [central bank digital currencies], consistent with what we heard earlier and a small nod to NFTs [non-fungbile tokens].
Stablecoins, designed to be pegged one-to-one with traditional currencies, CBDCs, and NFTs have all been propelled to the forefront of the regulatory agenda in recent months. The complete collapse of the terraUSD stablecoin and its support coin luna in May sent shockwaves through the bitcoin and crypto market, sparking fears other areas of the crypto ecosystem could also falter.
“[The bitcoin and crypto bill] is going to be bipartisan, it’s been broadly vetted by people in both parties,” said Lummis, who has previously said the bill will first be released in draft form before being introduced in Congress. “It’s been broadly vetted by both bureaucrats and regulators. As well as the innovative community. So we think we are on the right track, we think we have found that sweet spot.”
Appearing alongside Lummis at the Heritage Foundation were major bitcoin investor Michael Saylor and Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz, who has bought bitcoin and said at the event he wants to make Texas an “oasis on planet Earth for bitcoin and crypto.”
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The bitcoin price has swung wildly over the last year, rocketing to almost $70,000 per bitcoin … [+]
“Michael Saylor was one of our first set of eyes on it because his expertise is long-standing and we want to make sure we have lots of input before we file it,” Lummis said.
“Additional regulatory clarity … is going to benefit bitcoin and accelerate institutional adoption of that asset,” Saylor told CNBC in February.
The report could be one of the first following president Joe Biden’s March executive order that directed federal agencies to get a handle on the fast-growing crypto market and industry and publish reports that could guide the administration’s policy decisions.