A bill dubbed “Eliminate Barrier to Innovation Act of 2021” was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The proposed law aims to oversee cryptocurrencies through the creation of an entity whose composition is mostly made up of employees from two regulatory bodies, particularly the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
It is co-sponsored by Majority Leader Patrick McHenry of the House Financial Services Committee and FinTech Task Force Chairman Stephen Lynch. Currently, the bill is on track for Senate approval, and if passed, it will establish a digital asset working task force.
Bridging the regulatory gap
As reported by Blockchain.news, Republican leader McHenry said, “What we need is a conversation between those two entities (SEC and CFTC) about the nature of digital assets and cryptocurrencies.”
He added that because each agency has its own ruling in classifying cryptocurrencies as either securities or commodities, there’s a huge gap for regulation of this kind of asset. This can be problematic and thus prove to be a hindrance to innovation.
The leader also added that “American citizens are missing out on innovation and the upside of those innovations. This is one of the few pieces of tech in the last 100 years that the U.S. has not been the drivers of.”
Behind the task force
In a report from Forbes cited by the same website, it was revealed that aside from being composed of members from the SEC and the CFTC, the task force will also have at least a representative from six other sectors.
These include financial technology companies providing digital assets, financial firms under the jurisdiction of the SEC or CFTC, institutions or organizations engaged in academic research or advocacy on digital assets, small businesses engaged in financial technology, investor protection organizations and institutions, and organizations that support investment in historically-underserved businesses.
If approved, the bill will be one of its kind, as a crypto-focused task force has never been established in the U.S.
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