The important FIT21 cryptocurrency bill has been passed by the US House of Representatives. What does it mean?
The cryptocurrency bill passed the lower house
The bill, which effectively reduces the SEC's control over the cryptocurrency market, was passed in the House of Representatives and goes to the Senate. Then she is to be sent to the White House. Of course, if the mentioned upper house says “yes”.
This is precisely the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), which was supported by 71 representatives of the Democratic Party and 208 Republicans. 136 congressmen were against.
Now a lot depends on the US Senate. There he is waiting for a document, among others: senator Elizabeth Warren, probably the biggest opponent of the development of cryptocurrencies in the superpower. For consolation: Warren is one, and on May 16, the Senate adopted a resolution calling for the abolition of regulations limiting the storage of digital assets by banks. It is clear that they also look at bitcoin and altcoins differently than they did a year ago.
We will wait for the Senate's decision… well, we don't know how long. There is no time limit in U.S. law on when senators must take action after the lower house. However, once they start working, they may still change some of the provisions of FIT21.
In one form or another, the document could then end up on President Joe Biden's desk. This is already limited to 10 days. During this time, he will have to sign or veto the bill. His administration said on May 22 that it opposes the bill, but has not indicated whether it will veto it. The White House may be open to regulations, but want to change individual provisions of the bill.
Even if Biden vetoes FIT21, the House and Senate would be able to override the veto, but that would require at least a two-thirds vote.
Why is it so important?
The FIT21 Act largely hands over control of cryptocurrencies to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and thereby takes away power from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The market believes that this is a step in the right direction, as the SEC pursues a rather hostile policy, which cannot be said about the CFTC.
However, the SEC would still have regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies that are not sufficiently decentralized. These are assets that can be considered securities.
However, one wonders where politicians' sudden interest in digital assets comes from. This is probably a result of the upcoming presidential elections. Both major parties had to come to the conclusion that bitcoin investors are a significant constituency, so it is worth fighting for. This is how Donald Trump's latest wink at cryptocurrency fans should be treated. Today's potential approval of the SEC for the creation of ETH ETFs may be the dot on the i.
